The Next Great Adventure
by TsukiakariNoMichi
Summary: When a British Shinigami named James Potter informs the Gotei-13 that Aizen is still alive, they must send their finest to eliminate the mastermind. Somewhere along the way, their path crosses with wizards, and they find the true extent of Aizen's evil.
1. News from London

The Next Great Adventure

Chapter 1: News from London

Rukia's POV

January 2011, 17 months after Aizen's defeat in Karakura Town

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I walked out of the training hall of the Thirteenth Division, which I visited several times a week. I'd been working hard to increase my power once the Fake Karakura Town Battle (a misnomer, since the battle had spread to the real town) was over and my injuries from said battle were healed. The training, recommended by Renji, who joined me occasionally, had paid off, and here I was, the new lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division. That was seven months ago, and I was now of equal rank with him, Hinamori-san, and the rest. Speaking of the red-headed lieutenant, wasn't that his presence I just felt?

"Rukia! _Rukia_!"

I was right. My oldest friend rounded the corner of the training hall and stopped before me, almost bumping into me. Good thing he didn't actually make contact, or he would have suffered my…displeasure. I was about to shout at him, then noticed he looked serious. Looks like he wasn't here just to goof off.

"Hey, did you hear, Rukia? A member of a foreign Soul Society has just arrived here! They've just received him officially, and he's gonna be meeting the captains and lieutenants soon. Obviously, we're to attend as well. Come along. Your captain's already there."

"A member of another Soul Society, huh? I can't even remember the last time we had such an official visit. Details, Renji. Give me details!"

As we briskly walked to the meeting place, Renji filled me in. The visitor was a man from the Soul Society in Britain, and he was a lieutenant. He didn't know why the visitor was here, but apparently, it had something to do with a discovery in England which somehow concerned us Japanese.

Soon, we arrived at the First Division HQ, and stood in line, each lieutenant standing behind his or her captain. The doors then opened, and the visitor, led by the lieutenant of the First Division (What was his name again…Ah, I forgot) stepped inside. Everyone remained silent, but all looked somewhat interested, especially the ladies. I could hardly blame them. He was a rather handsome man, with youthful good looks, spiky black hair and hazel eyes. He wore rectangular glasses with a thick black frame and was in a black suit with a white shirt and a striped gold and red tie, which I assumed must have been the uniform of those who worked for the British Soul Society.

He came forward and stopped before Yamamoto, whom he bowed to. The Commander seemed pleased at this foreigner's manners, and nodded in response. He intoned, "Welcome to the Gotei-13's Headquarters, Ambassador."

The visitor smiled and the usual pleasantries followed (Thank you for receiving me, we look forward to working together, and whatnot).

The visitor continued, "My name is James Potter, and I am a lieutenant in the British Agency for the Protection of Spirits. Our role in the British Isles is similar to that of the Gotei-13's role in Japan, and I came because we have discovered something of interest to you. As all of you are no doubt aware, about 17 months earlier, the Gotei-13 filed a report to the other Soul Societies about the activities of a man named Sosuke Aizen. Or, rather, Aizen Sosuke, as you would call him."

There were mostly nods or grunts of affirmation at this. Hinamori-san clenched her fists at hearing the name, but fortunately, she relaxed quickly. She had come to terms with Aizen's true nature long ago. Matsumoto turned to her captain and asked discreetly, "We did, Captain?"

"Yes, Matsumoto, we did! How could you forget?" came the just-as-discreet reply from Captain Hitsugaya. Typical Matsumoto. Smiling slightly at the airheaded lieutenant, I tuned them out and focused on what was going on. Yamamoto was speaking now.

"Yes, we did, Lieutenant Potter. We have dealt with this man accordingly, and we confirmed his death 17 months prior. We only made the report after we knew beyond a shadow of doubt that he was dead."

Potter-san frowned, and said, "Is that so, Commander Yamamoto? I have with me some papers here, compiled by our research bureau. Shockingly, this data has identified some _traces of Aizen Sosuke's spiritual signature in Britain itself_."

He had uttered those words quietly, but it was as if he had shouted with a voice of thunder. If traces of Aizen had been discovered, then that meant just one thing: the traitor was still alive and in hiding somewhere. My blood boiled at the thought that he was still alive, after all that had been thrown at him.

Naturally, there was quite an uproar among the captains and lieutenants. There were gasps all around and Captain Kyoraku's hat almost fell off. My captain had become much paler than usual ("Captain, are you alright?" "Yes, Rukia, I'm fine. Don't worry.").

Yamamoto swiftly restored order, "_Silence_! All of us would do well to remember that Aizen was an extremely slippery man. I, too, am shocked by this announcement, but we must not simply discard it as lies, and inspect it thoroughly. Lieutenant Potter, please pass those papers to Captain Kurotsuchi there. Captain Kurotsuchi, inspect those papers. You are excused."

"Yes Commander." said the creepy clown-faced captain who left. He was so absorbed in reading the documents that he did not even bother to say something abusive to his lieutenant/daughter like he usually did when he left such meetings. Nemu-san bowed to everyone before hurrying after her captain/father.

Yamamoto then turned to Potter-san and said, "Thank you for promptly sharing this information with us, Lieutenant Potter. We will discuss this issue and speak to you regarding our response afterwards. Lieutenant Sasakibe will take you to the room we have prepared for you."

More pleasantries were exchanged, and the First Division lieutenant led Potter-san away. Then, silence fell upon all the remaining captains gathered in the room.

Captain Suì-Fēng broke the silence, saying, "Now that I think about it, it shouldn't be too surprising that Aizen preserved his life in some form or another. Only Kurosaki Ichigo and Urahara Kisuke actually saw him die. It is unwise to take the word of just these two as solid fact. We only took samples of the reiatsu in the area afterwards to confirm their statement of Aizen's death, and the results may have been flawed."

"Yes." It was Captain Unohana this time. "It is as the Commander said: Aizen Sosuke is indeed a slippery man, and may have found a way to escape. The question is: what do we do if he is still alive? If he were in Japan, we could find him and stop him. But he was reported to have been sensed in Britain, where we have no jurisdiction."

Yamamoto opened his eyes slightly, and said, "Aizen Sosuke was our man, and it is only right that we should deal with him. For now, calm down and wait for the results of Kurotsuchi's analysis. We'll decide further what to do once the results are in. Until then, you are all dismissed."

Renji caught up to me as we left.

"So, what do you think of all this, Rukia?"

I glared, "It's unbelievable! After all that effort, he's still alive!"

"How can it be, though? Ichigo killed him. He told us how he stabbed him right through his heart. I understand Aizen got high-speed regeneration from what Urahara Kisuke, Yoruichi Shihoin and Ichigo told us, but a blow to the heart should have killed him regardless!"

"Yes. I don't believe Ichigo and Urahara would lie to us, but this data shows us that we've all missed something. If Aizen's still alive, I bet Ichigo will get himself involved somehow before we can even relay the news to him."

Renji chuckled, "Amen to that! He always has to poke his ugly mug into whatever happens here."

I massaged my temples and nodded in agreement. Speaking of Ichigo, I hadn't communicated with him in a long time. Seven months, to be exact. Ever since I had become a lieutenant, I was so busy with work on top of training, so I had no time to contact him. I knew he was doing fine, as he went back to doing his daily work as a Shinigami after the war ended, and he had some backup in the form of another Shinigami, Kurumadani Zennosuke, assigned to the town. If anything major happened to him, Zennosuke would report to me, since I was his lieutenant.

I would have at least sent some text messages from my iPhone™* to Ichigo, but since I was in Soul Society and he was in the human world, calling or texting was impossible. One of these days, I'll work up the nerve to go to the Twelfth Division and – oh horror of horrors – ask to use _their_ phone to make a call to the real world completely unrelated to official work. One of these days.

The next day

We were all assembled in the same place as yesterday, and this time, Captain Kurotsuchi was present as well. Potter-san was present too.

"I've analysed the papers sent to us by the British, and it seems they're telling the truth. There have indeed been some traces of Aizen in the British Isles."

Yamamoto growled, "So it's true then."

"Yes sir. There is some good news, though. For some reason, the reiatsu samples provided suggest that Aizen currently is very weak compared to what he was when he died. I'd like to believe that these are remnants of his reiatsu left behind from an earlier trip to Britain which he might have undertaken before he died. Records do show that he went on such a trip even before he revealed his treachery to us. But the proof from the British shows that this reiatsu keeps popping up in different places at present time, meaning that these are not remnants of the past. They're real, and were made by Aizen. _He is still alive_."

You could hear a pin drop. Our worst fears had come true. Aizen was still alive, even after Ichigo had supposedly killed him 17 months ago. The only reason why there was no uproar over the news this time was that everyone had mentally steeled themselves to receive this news yesterday.

Yamamoto opened his mouth, as if to argue, then closed his mouth, knowing that the proof was irrefutably true. He said sharply, "Captain Suì-Fēng, once this meeting is over, get the word out to all our Shinigami in the real world that Aizen is still alive. Get the details from Captain Kurotsuchi and tell them everything they need to know. Captains, meet your divisions after this, and inform them."

He then turned to Potter-san and said, "Lieutenant Potter, this man is our problem, and I wish that officers from the Gotei-13 deal with this problem."

The British visitor nodded and said, "Yes, I understand. We anticipated such a response, and my seniors have said that they will be glad to have your officers in Britain to deal with this problem, as long as you follow one condition."

"Name your condition then."

"It is simple. Another British officer and I are to stay with your officers during the course of their stay in Britain, and assist them."

Yamamoto smiled slightly and said, "That is acceptable."

Potter-san smiled as well and said, "Well then, please inform me when your team is assembled, and I will go with them to Britain to carry out this task."

Potter-san then left, while the rest of us stayed behind.

My captain spoke up, "I suppose several captains will have to go for this kind of mission."

"I agree. The last time we faced him, many of us ended up injured badly. In fact, I believe the prudent thing to do would be to send one captain and a few officers to ascertain Aizen's whereabouts, then send several other captains to take him down." This came from Captain Suì-Fēng.

Yamamoto had taken a seat, and appeared deep in thought. The captains kept up their discussion, with one bringing up the biggest concern on everyone's mind: that the captains' positions in the Third, Fifth and Ninth Divisions were still vacant. Could we afford to lose anymore captains at a time like this?

After a few moments, Yamamoto seemed to have come to a conclusion. He rose from his chair and said, "I have listened to the points raised, and an idea just occurred to me."

Ukitake smiled and said, "Let's hear it, Sensei."

"We have three empty captains' positions. We also know of three Shinigami who have the skills necessary to be promoted to these positions."

My brother broke his silence, "Abarai Renji, Hisagi Shuhei and Kurosaki Ichigo, am I right?"

I was surprised. The captains were considering making Ichigo a captain? And my brother seemed to be in agreement with this as well! Renji and Lieutenant Hisagi seemed as surprised as I was. Even they had not been expecting this. I looked at my captain in confusion and he simply smiled at me and mouthed, "I'll explain later."

Yamamoto said, "Yes. Of those three, Lieutenants Hisagi and Abarai may be promoted immediately if they agree to take the Captain's Examination. But Kurosaki Ichigo cannot be promoted just about yet. He is undeniably powerful, but we have yet to see any other skills that are necessary for the running of a squad, like organisational and leadership skills."

It looked as if he was about to make a grand announcement. With everyone looking at him expectantly, he said, "Let's make this expedition to Britain into a modified Captains' examination! Lieutenants Hisagi and Abarai will be sent to England, and there, they will command a small force and smoke out Aizen, and eliminate him if possible. Upon their return after the successful completion of their mission, they will be made the captains of the Ninth and Third Divisions respectively."

Renji stammered, "But sir! This is so sudden!"

My brother cleared his throat and said, "To you, maybe. But to us captains, there is nothing sudden. We have discussed this over the course of several months. We have found you both worthy of becoming captains at this point in time. All that remains is whether or not you accept this mission and the post of captain."

Lieutenant Hisagi, who had gained his Bankai a year ago, looked as shocked as Renji, but he took it more calmly. He had been leading the Ninth Division as its Acting Captain since Tosen's departure. Becoming the captain would simply be a formality that made him the official leader of the Ninth Division. Even so, the prospect seemed daunting.

Yamamoto looked expectantly at them and asked, "Lieutenants Abarai and Hisagi, do you accept this mission, then?"

Hisagi stepped forward and said, "Like Lieutenant Abarai said, it is very sudden. However, I would still be honoured to take this mission."

Renji steeled himself and did the same. He may have been shocked, but all the same, he should have seen it coming. Most people who have held a Bankai for a year or more get promoted right away if there's an empty captain's post. It was just a matter of when he or she would get the invitation to become a captain.

Once that was done, Yamamoto continued, "As for Kurosaki Ichigo, we need to take into account the fact that he is still alive, and therefore, may not want the post of captain. Lieutenant Kuchiki Rukia, step forward."

Getting over the shock of suddenly being called out, I stepped out into the middle.

"Yes, sir!"

"We have a new assignment for you. You are to go to Kurosaki Ichigo and find out if he is willing to accept working for the Gotei-13 as a captain. Even if he is unwilling, ask him if he is willing to go on this mission to England. He might change his mind over time."

Oho! So I was to go to Karakura Town and persuade Ichigo to become a captain! Smiling inwardly at the thought, I answered, "Understood, sir! I'll depart right away."

Hours later

Ichigo's POV

I whistled as I walked back home with Tatsuki. The past few days had been relatively peaceful and, as a substitute Shinigami who still needed to attend school, and had Student Council activities on top of that, it was good reason to be happy. Speaking of Student Council, that's the reason Tatsuki was going with me. We were both part of a committee that was in charge of planning a certain school activity and we were going to my house to finish the proposal for the activity that we needed to send to the teachers.

"Have your friends up there contacted you recently, Ichigo?"

"You mean the Shinigami? Nope. I think they're still busy or something. Who knows, Rukia might have gotten promoted or something after her performance during the war. That means more work for her and less free time."

I had already told Tatsuki everything there was to know about my work as a Shinigami. Not telling her prior was a mistake on my part obviously, and after she approached me in a really silly manner, I talked to her and spilled the beans, so to speak.

_Flashback begins_

_I was walking along the pavement with my earphones blasting music in my ears, just a month after Aizen's death. All the official work had just ended. I had had to go and give testimony for the crimes of Aizen, and as the man who actually killed him, I had to contribute a lot of information to records. Urahara had to do the same; it couldn't be helped as the two of us were the only witnesses to Aizen's death._

_And then, suddenly, there was a terrible roar. A Hollow had just arrived, and it was less than a hundred metres from me. Sighing, I took off my earphones and wrapped it around my music player in record speed. I took out my badge, but before I could slam it against my chest to liberate my spirit from my body, a red blur flew past me and smacked right into the Hollow. _Bam!_ The ugly beast was slain in three seconds flat by the weird red blur, who turned out to be a person in a red jumpsuit. _

_I chuckled, "Hey, whoever you are, thanks! You just saved me a spot of work there!"_

_The person turned around and I froze. It was Arisawa Tatsuki._

_What. The. Heck._

_Tatsuki, wearing a red jumpsuit with pink goggles, and she had just killed a Hollow._

_Smirking cockily, she walked over._

"_What'd you think, Ichigo?"_

_Sorry Tatsuki, but I don't know anyone lame enough to wear a superhero suit and go around killing Hollows. I decided to yank her chain._

"_Do I know you?"_

_Now she froze. Then she realised I was playing around and a blood vessel started popping at her forehead._

"_Pretending not to know me, Ichigo? Why, I'm hurt!"_

_Now my earphones were back in my ears._

"_Sorry, I can't hear you. What was that you just said?"_

_She promptly punched me. Hard. My Shinigami body can withstand such blows easily, but my human body sadly couldn't. I doubled over in pain._

"_Ok…I deserved that. But seriously, Tatsuki, what the hell are you doing? That's kind of my job!"_

_She looked at me seriously, and I made sure to pay attention. Whatever she was going to say now, I had to listen to._

"_Look. I can take care of myself now. You don't need to worry so much about protecting me or anything. Now, spill. I want to know everything about what you've been doing."_

_I looked at her doubtfully. Sensing my trepidation, she suddenly grabbed the collar of my polo T-shirt._

"_How much longer do you think you can keep this from your friends? All of us saw that madman in the white – the one who tried to kill us before you showed up with your unconscious father. The time for secrets is long-over, Ichigo!"_

_I pulled her hands off – gently. I did not want a repeat of that last time when she punched my face through a window. Besides, she was right. She certainly deserved to know. I initially didn't want her to be involved, but where was the sense in that? She got in danger all the same, and was hurt simply because all her friends seemed to be leaving her behind. Alright. I've decided. I'll just tell her. _

"_Yeah. Sure. I'll tell you all. But not here. Come with me, I'll buy you a coffee or something."_

_We talked over coffee, and I told her everything._

_Flashback Ends_

And that was how Tatsuki came to know about my work. Turns out, I was an idiot for thinking she would be better off not knowing. Now that she knew all, she stayed out of my work and didn't do stupid things like try to help me hunt hollows. To think, all I needed to keep her from sticking her nose into my affairs was to tell her the truth. What an idiot I was.

But all that's in the past now, and things have only been going uphill since then. I decided to get more involved in my school, and joined the student council once my grades were decent enough. I was the Vice President, while Ishida was the President. Tatsuki was the treasurer. Everyone was shocked, firstly because I, a former delinquent, suddenly decided to take on a post with such responsibility, and secondly, because I was so damn good at it insert cocky smile here. And run a hand through hair while at it.

All in all, things have been going fine the past 17 months since the war ended. I even got to keep my powers despite Tensa Zangetsu's warning that I would lose them if I used the Final Getsuga Tensho. But since when have I played by the rules? After my training in the Dangai Precipice world, I received two things: a huge boost of power and the ability to perform the Final Getsuga Tensho. I just overpowered Aizen, and then stabbed him in the heart to stop him from using high-speed regeneration to recover. So I didn't actually have to use the attack that I had trained to obtain. By right, I should still have lost my power, but Urahara and my father decided to prevent that from happening – by giving me special training that allowed me to slowly 'step down' my power to a level which could be handled by my body. It was, in essence, a back-to-basics course, and required many difficult things like sealing my Zanpakuto and learning Kido. But it paid off, and I was a much more effective fighter now. In the past, I would win fights but only with Bankai, and I would end up beaten half to death. Now, I could fight with just my fists and Kido, and beat opponents without even getting scratched, so there was less work for poor Inoue.

Just as I was lost in such thoughts, I felt something. A familiar presence had just appeared in town. I smirked, and turned to Tatsuki.

"Looks like Rukia has just arrived, Tatsuki. What say we drop by and say hi?"

"Hey! What about the proposal, you slacker?"

"Screw the proposal! I'll get it done later. This is more important!"

Tatsuki bit her lip nervously. She had never messed up any council jobs. But she too understood that Rukia was an important friend whom I hadn't seen in quite a while.

"Oh, alright! But you'd better get it done by tomorrow!"

I grinned, "Yes, ma'am,"

And we took off towards the familiar source of reiatsu.

_To be continued_

James Potter is a Shinigami working for Britain? Aizen's reiatsu detected in England? Rukia's a lieutenant? Renji, Shuhei and Ichigo are to become captains? Ichigo and Tatsuki are Student Councillors? WTF?

Ok I shall stop being lame. I wrote another Bleach-Harry Potter crossover before but that one is really a failure =.= There was little planning, bad format, and so on. This is my second attempt to write in this category, and I hope it is received well. If there is anything that you didn't like about this story, please please do tell me about it. Especially if the dialogue seems very stiff and boring (one reviewer said this about one of my other stories, and I'm trying to make it better). I really need constructive criticism to improve myself.

_About Ichigo's Powers: _I think that the whole Final Getsuga Tensho issue (where Ichigo had to lose his power) was simply a plot device by Tite Kubo to pave the way for the Fullbring Arc. I plan to ignore that arc for this story, so I'm not using this plot device. In my story, Ichigo keeps his powers.

_About Aizen's fate: _As you can gather from the story, Aizen's been killed – by a sword through the heart. But he's still alive…in some form or another, as revealed by James Potter's information.

_About Hogwarts: _What's happening in the land of magic? Stay tuned to the next chapter. For now, I'll just say that Harry Potter's second year is drawing to a close.

*Rukia has a white iPhone 4 in this story. I get my weekly Bleach chapters from Mangastream, which features a few pages of fanart at the end of each chapter. One such piece of fanart showed Rukia in human clothing holding a white iPhone 4 in a silicone case with bunny ears at the top, and that's where I got the idea from.


	2. Challenge Accepted

The Next Great Adventure

Looks like I forgot to do the disclaimer in the previous chapter O.o I have no idea if it's really necessary since it was never mentioned in the Fanfiction Guidelines but better safe than sorry, I guess. Anyway, to those who reviewed the first chapter, and those who subscribed to this story, thank you all! I hope I can live up to your expectations!

Another note: To author light soceress, you brought up a good point about parentheses, and they do seem pretty useless sometimes. But I think I'll keep them because they are there to describe what the character is thinking. You can consider them off-the-cuff comments that the characters might make without actually saying them out loud. But I'll try to keep them short and put them in places where they won't interfere much with the reader's train of thought.

Please feel free to criticise this work and anything that you feel needs improvement!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the Harry Potter Series, and neither do I own the various brands that might be mentioned in the story. This is the only disclaimer I'm going to do for this whole story and applies to the whole story.

Chapter 2: Challenge Accepted

Ichigo's POV

Tatsuki and I hurried along to where I had last felt Rukia's presence. Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones who had felt the entry of a powerful Shinigami into the Living World. Some Hollows had turned up as well, and they were converging on Rukia.

"We have a fight on our hands, Tatsuki! Make sure you-"

"-Stay behind! Yes, I know! Now stop nagging at me and do your work!"

I glared at her. Does she not know that I 'nag' at her for a good reason? Still, I say nothing of it and quickly shed my body with my Mod Soul Pill, letting Tatsuki deal with Kon, i.e. stop him from doing something perverted that would permanently damage my reputation. Tatsuki dragged him around some building, while I continued running through the streets at breakneck speed in Shinigami form, ready to get rid of Hollows (there seemed to be a lot this time!). I found the first of them and got to work.

A punch to one's mask.

A slash across the mouth with Zangetsu.

Yet another went down with a special move that I had developed in training: I punched it and pushed my energy into it. Instantly, the Hollow exploded (unable to handle my awesomeness, no doubt!) .

I worked my way through the street, casually slicing the Hollows that came my way, attracted by the energy I was emitting. Soon, I could see Rukia. She now had a cute bob and noticeably had a lieutenant's badge on her sleeve. So! That's why she was so busy! Maybe I'll let her off the hook for not calling me for the past few months. She saw me as well and waved with a big grin.

"Ichigo!"

"Hey Rukia! You're back!"

I sliced and diced my way over to her while she repeatedly blasted spells at any that I missed, and soon, we had wiped all of them out.

"Good job, Ichigo! Nice to see you again!" She said as she beamed at me. Then she noticed what I was wearing and snapped, "Why are you not in uniform?"

I had stopped wearing the black Shihakusho for more comfortable clothes: A T-shirt, gym shorts that extended to the knees and sports shoes. I ignored her quip about my attire and said, "Good to have you back, Rukia! How long has it been? A year?"

The Hollows had raised quite the commotion among the spiritually aware bunch in town, and many of our acquaintances had come running. Ishida was striding over with Tatsuki, who was dragging along my body, which had been inhabited by Kon. The pervert mod soul was complaining as he came our way.

"Damn you Ichigo! If you're gonna use me as your slave, could you at least give me a more attractive bodyguard? Can't you see I'm longing for my sweet Inoue-san?"

Tatsuki slapped Kon hard, making me grimace. Damn. That was gonna hurt once I got back in my body. But he deserved it.

"That's because you'd probably grope her! And what, am I not attractive enough?"

Ishida, still in his school uniform, shook his head at their antics and said, "Well, it looks like I wasn't really needed here. Wait, is that Kuchiki-san?"

"Yeah, it's me! How are you, Ishida?" smiled Rukia.

"What? Nee-san came back?" The idiot immediately tried to jump her, but I stopped him before he got into any more trouble while he was in my body.

"Well, let's get out of here, shall we? We're practically in the middle of a street! Guys, let's go! Starbucks™!" I said while slamming my badge onto my body to force Kon's pill out.

There were some enthusiastic cheers from the rest as we walked off. Yeah, we're all coffee addicts. On the way, we called over Sado and Inoue, who hadn't turned up yet. We all took a table that was in the corner, which was favoured by us because it was more private and allowed us to talk about spirits and stuff without being overheard by others. Some pretty epic things have happened at this very table: This was where I had brought Kurumadani Zennosuke for a drink and to work out the details of our Hollow-hunting timetable. My gesture softened him up and made him more open to sharing a greater portion of the workload than he usually did. I also frequently came here with Ishida and Tatsuki to talk Council stuff. We got seated and launched into an enthusiastic catch-up session.

"What, the three of you are councillors? I never thought Ichigo could handle that much responsibility!" came a snide remark from Rukia when she was told the news of Tatsuki, Ishida and me, which earned a reproachful glare from me.

"So you're a lieutenant now? About time! I guess Byakuya-san finally decided to let you go for it, huh?" this was from Inoue, who was practically gushing with joy to have Rukia back.

The small talk went on for more than an hour, and I decided to put a stop to it. After all, I still have some homework to do! And on top of that, I had to finish that proposal for Council. I cleared my throat and said, "What brings you here, though? Did they send you on a mission or something?"

Rukia looked somewhat put off by my sudden break from the small talk, but answered my question nonetheless.

"Yeah, I am on a mission, sort of. It's…got to do with you, Ichigo."

Everyone fell silent and edged as close to the small circular table as possible.

"There's been a serious new development. We just played host to a Shinigami working in Britain, and his Soul Society has apparently uncovered evidence that Aizen Sosuke is still alive."

There were gasps and cries of 'impossible!' all around the table. All the men glared hatefully at the name, and Tatsuki actually looked somewhat scared, no doubt because he came so close to killing her while she had no way of resisting. Inoue gave her a reassuring squeeze of the hand and she calmed down.

Ishida asked, "If he's still alive, then I suppose you need all the manpower you can get. Did you come to ask Kurosaki to fight alongside the Captains once again, Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia answered, "Actually, the Gotei-13's request to Ichigo is not simply to fight Aizen. It's a little more specific." She paused, and said to me, "Ichigo, we're sending a delegation to England to root out Aizen and eliminate him. The _first_ question is whether or not you're willing to join us on this mission."

A mission to England? Well, I suppose that makes sense, since it was the British who had found out that Aizen was still alive. I personally wouldn't mind joining such a mission, but I needed details first.

"I don't have many details yet. All I know for now is that it could take quite a while, perhaps more than a year, and that we'll be collaborating with a couple of British Shinigami. After the war, we started reaching out to other Soul Societies. This way, we wouldn't need to face crises by ourselves, and we could also receive training from them for different skills. This could be a good chance to build closer ties to the British Agency for the Protection of Spirits. After some time, we may end up becoming affiliated too," answered Rukia.

Affiliated? What does that mean? I asked, and Ishida, of all people, explained, "I've heard this term before from my grandfather. When two Soul Societies are affiliated, they work together occasionally, by going on joint missions or training together."

"That's right. Right now, our Soul Society in Japan is affiliated with only a few countries, like China and Israel, and we've not done any joint activities in many decades. We've only recently started to open up to the rest of the world, actually. But putting that aside, what's your answer, Ichigo?"

I asked her impassively, "When do we leave?"

She smiled when she heard that and said, "In a month's time."

"We'll be done with Council Investiture by then. Final exams come a few months afterward, though."

"Well…I guess we could arrange to have you join us at a later date or something." She then bit her lip, as though hesitating to tell me something."

"What is it, Rukia? Is there something else?"

"Actually…Final Exams may not be a problem in the end. Ichigo, let's ignore this issue for now and skip straight to the _second_ question, shall we?"

"Now, the captains have been debating among themselves over a big problem: the three remaining vacancies for the rank of captain. I'll be frank with you: They want you to fill one of those ranks." Everyone was startled by this revelation, and rightly so. I was still a human who had just come of age, and suddenly I was being asked to take on one of the highest ranks in the army of the afterlife. Sensing the tension, Rukia held up her hands in a placating manner and said, "I understand it is a tough thing to ask of you, but still, could you please consider it seriously at least?"

"They seriously want me to become a captain?"

"If it was right after the War, they wouldn't have asked, since you were not an adult even by human standards. But now, you're past eighteen, and honestly, your standard of education is way above average, considering that many Shinigami have never gone to high school. Not to mention, your strength is already higher than that of the average captain."

Ishida pushed up his glasses and said, "You shouldn't be too surprised about this, Kurosaki. After all, you remember what we discussed back during the end of the War, don't you?"

I remembered that meeting well enough. The two of us had had a serious talk on my future. Ishida thought that I would be considered a loose cannon by Soul Society and that they might want to control me somehow, possibly by 'inviting' me to join the Gotei-13 formally. That way, they could monitor me. It was common sense that they would be somewhat wary of a powerful man living in their territory (Japan) but only loosely affiliated with them. I had to agree with his comments and when I probed him for ideas on what to do, he advised me to put myself in a position where I could make a good impression on Soul Society if and when they decided to come calling. For once, I decided to listen to him, and started working hard in school, and eventually I became one of the top ten scorers in the cohort. On top of that, I ran for Student Council and became the VP, so I had an impressive leadership portfolio as well. I also confronted what Tensa Zangetsu had dubbed the 'source of my fear': the alternate me, the Hollow living in my soul, and beat him again to prevent him from becoming a liability in the future. Simply put, I now had a reasonably good résumé for Soul Society, so if they were to suddenly ask me to join them, they might give me more favourable terms.

I turned to Rukia and answered, "Actually, I was prepared for much worse than that. To tell you the truth, I was wondering lately if I should just join the Gotei-13 formally. I don't feel like there's much of a future for me in Japan. With things as they are now, it could take a long time before our economy picks up steam once again. I could always go overseas to work but jobs are kinda scarce now. So I thought I might as well do what I do best: help the effort to purify Hollows and protect souls. But there's just one thing holding me back: my family."

Without batting an eyelid, Rukia answered, "Don't worry about that. There's a rule that prevents Shinigami from staying too long in the Living World, but they've made some changes to the law to make it more specific. Since you'll be leaving behind your life as a human way before your time, they'll allow you to take leave once in a while to visit your family. We understand it's a tough decision, so the higher-ups are willing to compensate you in whatever ways we can."

I nodded, satisfied. To hell with studying, working and growing old as a human. I might as well jump off the fence separating life and death and start work seriously as a full-fledged Shinigami.

"Alright, Rukia! It's pretty sudden, but I, Kurosaki Ichigo, accept your challenge!" this drew some chuckles and groans from the rest. Truly, this table in the Karakura Starbucks outlet was made for meetings of epic proportions.

With that, it was decided. I would end school once our term as student councillors was over. At that point, we would hand over power to the juniors who had been elected by the student body in the yearly Student Council Investiture ceremony, and then I would leave for England. Apparently, the trip to England was a test in itself to measure my leadership skills and ability to respond to situations. The traditional Captains' Exam was redundant in my case as it focused more on strength and martial skills, and there was no question as to my prowess in that field.

Meanwhile, I was told that the Shinigami selected for the Delegation, as well as the British man who would be working with us, would be coming to Karakura, and Urahara had apparently been paid by the Gotei-13 to take care of their lodgings as well as to brief us. Speaking of Urahara, he was making quite a handsome living off being an agent for the Gotei. They had decided that his skills were of much greater use outside Seireitei, so they got him to continue his old job of staying at his shop, keeping his ears attentive to get useful information for them. He was also the go-to guy for newbie Shinigami assigned to the Living World, and spent his free time designing gadgets for them with funds from Seireitei. Yoruichi, Tessai and my own father had kept their roles of being part of his 'network', which had grown to include me and my friends once we had wised up a bit. Gone were the days when we were clueless kids who allowed ourselves to be manipulated by well-meaning adults*. Now we were adults deemed worthy of knowing things that were previously kept from us for our own good.

Today was the day the Shinigami were going to arrive. I had changed back into my uniform, as a captain would be coming, and also to give a good impression for the British Shinigami's benefit. Rukia and I had woken up early and left for the riverside, where the World Gate would be opening. We had come in a van which Urahara had obtained for us, as the Shinigami were coming with their luggage. After all, it was to be a long-term mission, so they would need to bring along a lot of items. At five a.m. sharp, the gate appeared out of thin air, and the silhouettes of a group of people appeared, preceded by ten Hell Butterflies. Hmm, there were several familiar reiatsu signatures present. Rukia bowed and greeted them.

"Good morning, everyone! Welcome to Karakura Town."

I raised a hand casually and said, "Morning all."

Rukia frowned at my choice of words but chose not to comment. There were unenthusiastic responses from the group, but one raised a hand like I did, and returned my greeting enthusiastically. I had no idea who it was, but I already liked this friendly guy! Everyone stepped forward so I could see them.

The group included Hitsugaya Toshiro, Matsumoto Rangiku, Abarai Renji, Madarame Ikkaku, Ayasegawa Yumichika and Hisagi Shuhei. As for the remaining four, I could recognise two of them because I had seen them in the battle over Fake Karakura Town, but I did not know their names. They were both lieutenants; one was a man with blonde hair that came down to his shoulders and covered his left eye, and the other was a young woman with brown hair kept neatly in a bun. The remaining two were people I had never seen before. One was a woman** with short brown hair in a bob hairdo and glasses. The last one was a man who stood out because he wore a black suit instead of a Shihakusho, and because he didn't look like an Asian. I realised that this was also the man who had greeted me just then. Was this the British Shinigami?

Deciding that I would get to know them better later on, I smiled at the tired looks on everyone's faces and smirked, "Well, look at all of you, dead on your feet! It's a good thing nobody can see you, or people will think the zombie apocalypse has started!"

Toshiro snarled, "Very funny, Kurosaki. If you don't mind, could you bring us to where we're supposed to stay?"

"Of course, Toshiro. You guys, bring your luggage to that van over there and load it in the boot. Or the trunk, whatever you call it. Your Faux Bodies are in there too, so get in them." I said as I flashed a charming smile at the group ('How many times do I have to tell you, it's _Captain Hitsugaya_!'). The two women I did not know seemed to be struggling somewhat with their suitcases.

"Here, let me help you with that." They thanked me nervously and let me carry their suitcases for them. Renji smirked at this and said, "Hey Ichigo! It's been a long time! Won't you help a friend with his baggage?"

"Screw you, Renji! Do it yourself!"

The other guys guffawed and Ikkaku said, "But he's right; it _has_ been a long time. I bet you've improved greatly since the last time we saw you. You'd better show me your strength one of these days!"

"I see your behaviour has become more refined. That's good. It's a lot more beautiful than last time." I sweat-dropped hearing this from Yumichika and muttered, "Umm, ok. No comment."

We all piled into the big van once everyone had gotten into their faux bodies. I was driving with Toshiro sitting next to me. I checked the directions to their hotel on my smartphone and drove off.

"Kurosaki, we'll rest first or we won't be able to think straight during the briefing. Let's meet at…Two p.m. Have your lunch and meet us at the hotel for the briefing. We'll handle introductions at that time as well."

"Got it." After some time of driving in silence, I turned to the captain and asked, "How are we going to Britain? Not by flight, I hope?"

"We _will_ be taking one of those…airplanes. But not all the way to Britain. It is possible to travel directly from one Soul Society to another via the World Gate if the two Societies are affiliated. Unfortunately, we aren't affiliated with Britain. So, we'll take a plane to another country, Malaysia, if I'm not wrong, and then go to Britain's Soul Society from there. I'd rather not fly, but we have no choice. At least this is better than flying all the way to England."

"So we will be flying. I hope you have all your passports and visas then?"

"Yeah. Urahara had them made. Apparently he has a man in the Japanese government to take care of all these stuff. But you'll have to instruct us as to what to do at the airport since none of us has flown in those contraptions before."

I chuckled at how extensive Urahara's network was, and then frowned. It was going to be difficult getting this violent bunch to behave themselves in the airport and on the plane. Ikkaku had better leave behind that wooden sword he always kept with him in the Living World and Renji had better mind his manners when dealing with airport staff.

Then, I remembered something and asked, "By the way, what became of Ichimaru Gin? If I remember correctly, Tosen died, but I'm not sure what happened to Fox-face after the war."

Toshiro's expression darkened before he said, "Ichimaru was brought before a court martial, but he escaped punishment. He was allowed to work as an unranked Shinigami, and did so for a few months. After that, there was even some talk that he might be returned to his previous position because he had displayed so called 'good behaviour' for the past few months and built up many merits. But then, he just vanished."

"He vanished?"

"He just disappeared one day. All he left behind was a letter saying that he was sorry but he couldn't become the captain because he had found a job at another Soul Society. We were naturally furious at this, but his actions weren't exactly in violation of the laws of Soul Society. The Society that hired him would have done an extensive background check first, so that means that they clearly approve of him despite all his past actions. We can't do anything about that."

I breathed out heavily.

"Wow. That's just…wow. That guy was so creepy it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to hire him."

"I disliked him greatly. But I have to admit, his work during the few months for which he was free was nothing short of exemplary. If not for all he did in the past, I think that work alone merits a promotion straight to Lieutenant-level at the very least."

Soon, we arrived at the hotel, and dropped everyone off. Urahara had booked five rooms, so they would be doubling up. Since there were three girls, Matsumoto had decided to share her room with Yumichika, reasoning that he was the least likely to pull anything on her while she was sleeping…well, whatever.

Toshiro turned to me and said, "Well, that's all, Kurosaki. We'll see you later. You'd better not be late."

Before I could say anything, Rukia answered, "Understood, sir! We'll see you later."

And the bunch of Shinigami then retired to their rooms and Rukia and I drove back home to catch up on sleep. Rukia had insisted on using my room's cupboard once again. She fit right in, like she hadn't grown at all the past 17 months. Some things never change. Oh well, best not to think about all that now. I had a briefing later, and I needed my rest. Good night, Rukia.

_To be continued_

*Urahara has manipulated Ichigo and his friends in the past. He trained Ichigo to be able to fight in Soul Society during the Soul Society arc, but he had ulterior motives to rescue Rukia: to prevent Aizen from getting hold of the Hogyoku inside her body.

**Who is this woman in the brown bob hairdo and glasses? She will be introduced next chapter and she is not an OC.


	3. Briefing

The Next Great Adventure

Chapter 3: Briefing

_*click*_

_*creeeaaaak*_

"Gooood MORNING ICHIGO!"

Nice try, dad. I could tell you were coming before the first syllable so much as left your mouth. Just as my idiotic father was about to leap on me, I jerked up and opened the window. Just in time, I grabbed him while he was in mid-flight and threw him out of the window.

"Ichigo! Did you just throw Isshin-san out through the window?" This came from the concerned Rukia, who had been rudely awakened by my dad and had stuck her head out of the closet just in time to see him falling out of the window. I shrugged, supremely unruffled by this incident.

"Best case scenario, he suffers minor injuries. Worst case scenario, he dies and we collect life insurance. Works fine either way for me, Rukia."

She shook her head in a disapproving manner and went back to sleep as I went down for breakfast. I scratched my chin as I walked down, deep in thought.

_It's about time I told the rest about this. Karin already can see spirits and more importantly, she's acknowledging their existence, even helping them _move on_ in some cases. She's no longer the uninterested bystander she used to be. As for Yuzu, she's the same as before, only barely able to see spirits, but she still wants to do something for them. I won't be able to protect them if I'm on the other side, but thank God, dad is still here and he used to be a Captain. I hope he knows what he's doing._

When I reached the table, everyone was already seated, even dad, who was showing some signs of injury due to falling out through my window.

Yuzu smiled when she saw me and chirped, "Good morning, Onii-chan!"

"Morning, Yuzu. Now, listen guys…"

Before I could say anything, dad cut me off.

"Ah, so you're going to tell us everything, aren't you?"

"Yes- wait, how did you…"

He smiled, and it was a serious one, not his usual goofy leer.

"It's written all over your face! Besides, Kisuke still keeps contact with Soul Society and he told me what's going on. So, what was your answer?"

I poured myself some coffee, sat down and took a sip before looking him in the eyes and said, "I accepted their invitation."

My sisters were quite confused at this point.

"Ichi-nii, what're you talking about? An invitation for what?"

I took a deep breath and explained everything.

"You guys know all about Soul Society now and you also know about the 'work' I've been doing for them for the past 2 years, right?"

"Yeah; we know you're a so-called Shinigami and you help souls move on and put down the evil ones – the ones that become monsters with masks and holes. What about it?"

"Up till now, I've been doing it as a sort of part-time job. Now, I'm moving up to full-time work there."

"You're working already? But you're not even out of high school!" asked Yuzu. It looks as if she still hasn't got the full implications of this.

"Yeah. There's an organisation of Shinigami, and it's like an army. I'm going there to be one of the top officers in it. You know all about Soul Society; that's where I'll be working."

Yuzu now looked distressed.

"You're going to work in the land of the dead? But you'll never see us again! You'll never live again! You won't be able to marry and settle down and give us plenty of nephews and nieces!"

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. _That's_ what she was worried about? I laughed at her sudden outburst and said, "Wrong on all three counts, Yuzu! It's possible to travel between Soul Society and this world and on top of that, they're willing to let me cross over once in a while to see you. Usually they don't let people cross over too frequently but they're willing to make an exception for me. As for…settling down, I do know a few Shinigami who've done that, but why bring it up now? I won't even consider it until much later in life!"

And as soon as the subject of my future children was brought up, my dad lost his seriousness.

"Where's Rukia-chan? I hope you're getting it on with her 'cause I'm expecting grandkids soon, Ichigo!"

I facepalmed, then noticed that Rukia was silently walking down the stairs, out of dad's line of sight. Maybe I'll just let her deal with him instead. I raised my coffee mug in her direction and said casually, "Oh, I don't know…why don't you ask her yourself?"

Three head turned around so fast I was surprised they didn't get whiplash. Rukia gasped slightly at the sudden movement. Turning red at having been found out, she said embarrassedly, "Um…hi everyone…"

"Rukia-chan! When did you get back?" demanded Yuzu excitedly, standing up and grabbing Rukia by the shoulders (They're almost the same height! Just a little more, Yuzu!).

Seeing that Rukia was too embarrassed, since she had just entered the previous night without announcing herself, I spoke on her behalf.

"She came back just yesterday. Here, have some coffee, Rukia."

"Oh, thanks Ichigo,"

There was a lengthy heart-to-heart at the table where lots of questions were asked, including serious ones like 'how's your work treating you?' and embarrassing ones like 'Do you have a boyfriend' and stuff. Dad asked again about the grandchildren and he ended up flying out of the dining room by the combined force of three fists (Karin's, Rukia's and mine) hitting his face simultaneously. Good riddance. We whiled away the morning with the meaningless small talk, and soon, it was time to go for the meeting where we would be briefed on the mission to England.

The hotel, 1.55 p.m.

Rukia and I took the subway to the Hotel where Toshiro and the rest were staying. By the time we reached our destination, everyone had jus finished their lunch and were waiting in a conference room that had been booked by Urahara for the briefing. Really, the man had thought of everything.

"Good to see you both, Kurosaki, Kuchiki," greeted Toshiro, "You're just in time for the briefing." He seemed to be in a much better mood, now that he had rested. In fact, everyone seemed livelier than they were a few hours ago when they had just arrived.

"Hey Ichigo! Sleep well?"

"Not too bad, Renji. Enjoying yourselves at this fancy hotel?"

Rangiku sashayed over and piped up, "It's great! Urahara's really a great guy, booking such a wonderful hotel for us. How've you been, Ichigo?"

"Not too bad, Rangiku-san! I…see the years…have been kind to you." I said, scratching the back of my head, not knowing what else I could say to her. After the past 17 months, I was no longer the type who would become faint-hearted merely at the sight of an, _ahem_, underdressed woman but still…

Noticing my awkwardness, the man next to Renji, a blonde man, chuckled; it wasn't a mean chuckle, rather it was an empathetic one. I didn't know his name so I smiled at him and extended a hand.

"Hey, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. What's your name?"

He looked somewhat surprised but shook my hand and replied, "Ah – I'm Kira Izuru, Third Division Lieutenant. If Abarai-kun is successful, he'll be my captain."

The woman seated next to him also took the opportunity to introduce herself.

"Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san. I'm Hinamori Momo, Fifth Division Lieutenant," she said. I was surprised by her rank and looked at her carefully. If and when I was successful and became a captain, this person, Hinamori Momo, would most likely be my right-hand woman. She then gestured to the woman next to her, the one with short brown hair and glasses and introduced her as well.

"This is Shirogane Mihane, the Sixth Division's Ninth Seat. Abarai-kun invited her along on this mission."

"It's a pleasure, Kurosaki-san," said the woman with a smile and a slight bow. The last to introduce himself was the British man.

"My name is James Potter, lieutenant from the British Agency for the Protection of Spirits. Hey, nice shoes you've got there!"

I looked down proudly at the black and green branded sports shoes I wore all the time. I had ditched my Shinigami sandals a long time ago after an incident where I was training with my dad. The arch of his foot collapsed because the sandals didn't support his feet well. Since then, I had always stuck to shoes that fit my feet properly and gave good support for my arch. I thanked James and the meeting started, now that I knew everyone's names.

Toshiro, at the head of the table, with James on his right, started speaking first.

"So, as all of you know, the British have found traces of Aizen's reiatsu in England, proving that he is still alive in some form or other. Our objective in this mission is to find him and put an end to him once and for all. We must confirm his death beyond a shadow of doubt in order for this mission to be complete."

James then spoke, "Another British Soul Reaper and I will be assisting in this mission. We will keep our sensors on the lookout for this spiritual signature and whenever something crops up, we will inform you."

"Yes. Your jobs will be to follow the leads given by the British Soul Society and investigate them. We all know how elusive Aizen is; we can't guarantee that each investigation will yield fruitful results. So, the key to success here is to persevere and check everything thoroughly. Leave not a single stone unturned. Now, Abarai, Hisagi and Kurosaki – you three are now nominees for the position of Captain. Should you all pass, Hisagi will lead the Ninth Division, Abarai the Third Division, and Kurosaki the Fifth Division. There is a lot more to being a Captain in the Gotei-13 than just fighting alone in times of war and doing paperwork in peacetime. This mission is also meant to test your leadership and organisational skills. I won't be your commanding officer here. I'll be taking a back seat and merely acting as an examiner assessing your skills. The rest have been ordered to take instructions from you. Now, let's move on to the finer details. Lieutenant Potter, if you will,"

"Everyone please listen up, particularly the three Nominees. There will be many complications working in England, so you'll have to plan accordingly. We'll arrange for your lodgings in England, and we'll give you information you might find useful. But as per the wishes of Commander Yamamoto, we are to provide minimal help."

I asked, "What exactly do you mean by complications?"

James said offhandedly, "The Wizarding Society. They have some reiatsu as well, so we might get confused during the missions. Our quarry may even end up hiding amongst their population-"

"Wait wait wait…the _what_ society?"

"Wizards! I'm saying they might get in the way," At this point, James trailed off, noticing that everyone was confused.

"You people…don't know about wizards?"

Hisagi ventured a guess, "You mean old men in robes holding staves like Gandalf?"

James laughed at this example and said, "Looks like you guys don't know, after all! Well then, I'd better explain. Lieutenant Hisagi is somewhat right. Gandalf is a fictional character, but wizards are real. They're humans with the power to use magic, which is somewhat like spiritual power."

Toshiro challenged this statement, "If there were such things as wizards, we would have known. At least, we would have known if there were any on Japanese soil. So far, we've found none."

James fell silent, and everyone looked at him expectantly. Clearly, the diminutive captain wanted proof. How was the Brit going to react? With a bland expression, he reached into his blazer and pulled out a straight object. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a long thin brown wooden stick with a spider web design on it. We all raised our eyebrows at him, wondering what he intended to do with it. Without warning, he pointed the stick at the empty can of coke which Renji had placed on the table after drinking its contents. For a second, nothing happened. Then, Rukia gasped. The can had suddenly developed legs and a tail. In a few seconds, it had become a large rat. Momo repeatedly looked at James, then at the rat and then back at James, as if she was trying to figure out how he had done that. Rangiku was looking on with her mouth wide open and her lip quivering somewhat. Meanwhile, Hisagi, the calmest of the bunch, had whipped out a digital camera and had tried to snap a picture of the rat, which scurried away before he could do so. Everyone jerked out of their seats as the rat jumped off the table. Noticeably, nobody looked scared or jumped onto their chairs while screaming. Hmm, not bad. James looked at the rat distastefully. He pointed his stick at the rat said, "_Accio Rat!_"

This time, the rat flew back to him, as though an invisible hand had picked it up and deposited it in James gloved hand. He jabbed his stick into the rat's fur with what I thought was more force than necessary and said roughly, "_Evanesco!_"

The rat instantly disappeared under the stick. It just faded into thin air. Everyone was speechless.

"Wow. Just…wow!" muttered Rangiku.

"Magic…Real Magic! Who would've thought?"

"That's not possible with our Kido. We can only use our spiritual energy to cast binding or destructive spells but theoretically it's not possible to turn non-living objects into animals," murmured Hinamori.

"Umm…please do explain, Lieutenant Potter," said Hisagi, "This is completely new to us."

"Good lord, I really can't stand rats," muttered James, "Anyway, that was magic. There you go; I've proved its existence. It's completely different from the Kido I've seen you guys perform. In just about every country, there is a community of Wizards like me, and these communities are secret because of an international law that forbids Wizards from revealing themselves to Muggles – that's what we call humans who can't perform magic."

Everyone listened intently as James rattled on. Hisagi and Hinamori even took out notepads and started writing down useful points. I noticed that James' voice was rough initially but softened as he spoke and eventually it was his usual businesslike yet casual tone. I asked, "You mentioned earlier that these people have reiatsu…is that the source of their power?"

"Actually, it isn't. In this case, their higher-than-average levels of reiatsu are a consequence rather than a cause of their magic power. Magical power is what some people are born with – it's a mental power, if I remember correctly. It's not related directly to the soul."

He paused, choosing the right words, and continued, "You know that our ability to sense spiritual energy signatures, or what you'd call 'reiatsu', is almost like a sixth sense because it doesn't come from our usual sensory organs, like eyes or ears. I think magic strengthens this Sixth Sense, causing excess spiritual energy, slightly above the normal level for humans. But there've never been sightings of Hollows among Wizards, which implies that even with their above-average spiritual power, they don't have enough of it to see spirits."

Toshiro tapped his chin thoughtfully and asked, "If that's the case, could there be a possibility that a Shinigami like us could learn this magic? We might not be born with such skills but with reiatsu like ours, there's a chance we might be able to do something like what you just demonstrated."

The question was surprising, and it showed on everyone's faces. Did he want us to learn magic all of a sudden? However, Rangiku had already perceived what he was driving at.

"You're worried that Aizen could possibly have learned magic if he's in England among the Wizarding population."

James looked uncomfortable and said, "Yes, that's exactly what I meant by 'complications' earlier. I just said that above-average spiritual energy is a consequence of magic, but it could be the other way around. I was born a wizard, and retained my magical abilities even after I…died and became a Reaper. But I have several colleagues who were born as muggles. After they died and became Reapers, they tried using magic using a wand and found that they could do it. So, theoretically, this Aizen could perform magic."

I noticed that he hesitated before saying 'death', but did not comment on it. After all, death was likely a touchy subject for Shinigami. Everyone processed what James had said and Renji thought aloud, "Well, that means that conventional methods may not work. I guess we'd better try and learn some magic, or at least, research methods to counter magic. Could you arrange that, Lieutenant Potter?"

"Yes, I can. My superiors have said that they will help in any way possible, so we can arrange magic classes for you guys. There's no need to give you the full curriculum, just the stuff that you'll need to know."

Toshiro replied, "Much appreciated. Matsumoto, after this meeting, send a message to the Commander telling him about this recent development and about wizards in general. He'll decide what to do if there does happen to be a community of wizards in Japan. Now, Lieutenant Potter, what of the remaining details?"

"Yes. We're booked on a flight tomorrow evening to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From there, we'll pick up the other Reaper who'll be accompanying us and go straight to England. Initially, the plan was to go a month from now to allow Ichigo to finish his exams, but since he has accepted the invitation to become a Captain, we can forget the exams and leave right away."

"Just out of interest, why Malaysia?" asked Rukia.

"It's one of the nearest countries to Japan that is affiliated with Britain. So we can use one World Gate to go to Britain from there. Ichigo, could you explain what we should do at the airport? I believe you have the most experience here."

"Oh..ok, I suppose. We're flying economy class, right? Well then, we should…"

I explained to them all that we should do – check in, get luggage weighed and deposited, Immigration, Customs and everything else.

When I was done, I wrapped up, "Well, that's about it for procedure at the airport. Got it?"

Everyone gave affirmative nods, and Ikkaku said, "Alright, we get it, so can we leave now?"

I glared at him. That one was going to be troublesome. And so was Renji, with his tattoos.

"Not yet, Ikkaku. There're still some things I want you to take note of. Security in the airport and on the plane will be very tight. Ikkaku, you'll leave that wooden sword of yours behind."

Ignoring his indignant protests against 'repressive human laws', I continued, "Renji, your tattoos will automatically make security staff suspicious. Be polite, don't give them any reason to arrest you."

Ignoring _his_ cries as well, I went on, "Don't say words like 'hijack' or 'bomb' because even that will cause airport staff to panic and arrest you. Well…I suppose that's all."

And thus, the meeting ended and the rest retired to their rooms while Rukia and I returned home. We both started packing up our bags and were done the next day. We had one last lunch together as a family before I left, and Rukia called her brother – after all, it would be difficult to contact him if he was in Soul Society, so one last phone call was in order. It was a short conversation but the fact that he had even talked to Rukia was important in itself. In the evening, we were set to go.

My family and friends were there to see me off. Tearful hugs and kisses were exchanged, as well as demands to keep in contact via email or Facebook. Sado bumped fists with me smiling solemnly. I smiled affectionately at the gentle giant who had been my best friend since Tatsuki and I began to slowly drift apart years ago and clapped his shoulder. A handshake was exchanged with Ishida.

"All the best, VP. You've been an excellent subordinate this past year," He smirked.

"Thanks, Mr. President. It's been the greatest honour serving with you," I shot back sarcastically, before grinning at him.

Tatsuki embraced me and said, "I've always wanted to go to England, y'know. Maybe I'll come visit you during the holidays!"

I smiled, "I'd like that. Take care, Tatsuki!" She gave me the almost-customary punch on the arm with a playful smile and wink, after which we went into Departure and soon boarded the flight.

On the plane

The flight wasn't exactly a long one, but we had some time to kill. Rukia had taken the window seat, I was next to her, and James Potter was to my right. Everyone else was elsewhere in the plane and all of them were asleep except Rangiku-san who was watching a drama on the television attached to the seat in front of her. The British Shinigami was a nice guy and we became friends quickly, despite the fact that he was much older than me. We ended up chatting about random things like school, my girlfriend from a year ago (we broke up on good terms because her family was moving to another country) and what we did for our respective Soul Societies. James had great taste in pranks and shared some of his exploits with me. After some time, I decided to ask James about something that had been on my mind.

I asked, "James…these wizards, what's their society like? Is it very different from ours?"

"Yes, quite. They live in plain sight, using magic to keep their world hidden from the eyes of Muggles. We even have our own separate government, called the Ministry of Magic, and our own currency. We also have a school named Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which teaches children on how to properly use magic."

"My time at Hogwarts was priceless. I met really great friends, and it was also there that I met my wife, Lily," said James, with a wistful look on his face. Clearly, he was caught up in nostalgia, but after this, his expression turned sombre.

"My son's at Hogwarts right now." Those words were uttered quietly and flatly. It was barely a whisper. I sighed. Those words were enough to give an insight into the tragedy of James' life, and maybe that of his son's life – a man who had died before his time and left behind a living son. Was his wife still alive? I decided not to ask.

"I'm…sorry to hear that."

"No, don't be," he replied with a soft smile, "I'm happy he's alive and well. Even though my wife and I died, he miraculously survived, and that itself is more than anything I could wish for."

'Miraculously survived', huh? That sounded exactly like me, when I was nine years old – When my mother had died at the hands of a rampaging beast that had confounded the Shinigami for 50 years. I survived thanks to one hell of a miracle…and how did I repay her? I got into so many fights and on many occasions, came close enough to death to almost feel its clammy, suffocating grip on my throat. James on the other hand…I had no idea what his son was up to; maybe he was getting into 7 different kinds of trouble even as a human, but James still wished the best for him, considering it lucky he survived.

I let out another melancholy sigh. Hopefully it was my last for the evening. Dropping the depressing subject, I turned to ask him more, but he had fallen asleep. Before I could say a single word, Rukia's hand went up and prodded my cheek slightly. She was resting her head on my shoulder and was just about to go to sleep.

"Stop talking and go to sleep already, fool." She said, sounding lifeless. I rolled my eyes at her actions. Selfish woman. Well whatever, it's not like I can do anything if the two people on either side of me were asleep. Good night, once again.

_To be continued_

Now, some notes which I would like to make…

Regarding affiliation – There are quite a few factors which may cause two soul societies to work together, so Britain and Japan are not affiliated despite their former ties. I wanted to keep this as a minor issue, and I also thought viewers would see it as a peripheral issue of little importance to the plot itself. Still, to the nameless reviewer who submitted an excellent long and detailed review, thanks for your comments and advice!

Regarding Ichigo's choice of clothing – In the previous chapter, Ichigo was described as wearing a T-shirt, gym shorts and sports shoes rather than his usual Shihakusho (the black kimono). The other clothing changes are pretty random and Ichigo has since changed back to his usual garb as he is an official member of the Gotei now. But he keeps his shoes, and the reason was given in this chapter. The sandals don't really look like they provide proper support to the sole, and Ichigo, in this story (not in canon!), had an experience in which his father's sole collapsed due to lack of support. So, Ichigo wears sports shoes instead of his Shinigami sandals.

Regarding Education – A fair point was brought up regarding education in Soul Society as opposed to education in the real world. We still don't know what sort of education is given to Academy Students in Seireitei, but the reviewer was right in saying that it would impart skills more useful to Shinigami while the skills taught in Living World schools may be of less importance.

Regarding the characters' attitude – Yes, Toshiro doesn't usually snarl, but I was hoping to emphasise the point that it was very early in the morning and someone was insulting him, so he got angry. And as for Rukia and Ichigo's highly uncharacteristic reunion in the previous chapter, I remember two incidents in the manga where these reunions took place, and both times Ichigo was staring dumbly at Rukia, who looks smug, or is just smiling at him – then she proceeds to beat him up. I was hoping to portray Ichigo in a more sophisticated light – him knowing when she comes to meet him and going prepared, rather than being completely shocked by her presence. And I know that is highly out-of-character, and I try to avoid it because many fans dislike it. But for me, that's what makes Fanfiction so fun, in the end.

Once again, thanks for your reviews, and I look forward to hearing your comments about this chapter as well!


	4. Check in

The Next Great Adventure

I think it's quite obvious who's the second British Shinigami assigned to the case. As usual, this story is in Ichigo's point of view, unless I state otherwise.

Chapter 4: Check-in

It was about 7 a.m. in the morning, Malaysia time, as our plane touched down at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Unlike the previous night, everyone was well-rested and raring to get out of the plane and into Britain.

Ikkaku growled, "That was too long! I'm never using those…_things_ as a means of travel again!"

"You're just cranky 'cause they didn't let you keep your sword, Ikkaku-san. Well, Potter-san? Can we take the gate to Britain now?" asked Renji, who was tying up his hair…much like the girls in my school did before gym period started. I bit back a laugh and quickly busied myself adjusting my hoodie so that he didn't notice my grin.

"We will soon be leaving for England via World Gate, but before that, we'll have to meet up with my colleague assigned to this case. She's waiting outside, so let's go get our luggage first, shall we?"

There were some murmurs of "She?" and looks of interest at realising that the other British Reaper was a woman. We went through immigrations and customs again and got our luggage before stepping out into the waiting area where hundreds of people stood around waiting for the arrival of their loved ones. We started scanning the crowd for western-looking women, but the search did not take long – A woman with shockingly red hair, which could possibly put Renji's wild mane to shame, came forward, pushing through the crowd.

"James!"

"Lily!" smiled James, and he embraced the woman. Upon closer inspection, her eyes were brilliant green, and almost as striking as Toshiro's eyes. She was wearing a white shirt with a grey vest and matching trousers, along with a black trenchcoat. Wait – He called her Lily…wasn't that James' wife's name? So a husband and wife pair was going to be assisting us! Well! They went through a typical touching reunion, complete with 'I've missed you!', 'How've you been?' and even a 'Have you been behaving?' ('Of course I have! What do you take me for?' protested James in reply). Once that was over, Lily turned to us, and with a slight bit of uncertainty, bowed to us.

"Did I do that right? I heard this was how you greet people in Japan…"

Toshiro smiled slightly. As the leader of the group, or rather, the highest-ranked, he spoke first, saying in a formal tone, "Yes, that _is_ how we do it. Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro of the Tenth Division in the Gotei-13, and as you've already figured out, we're the team set by Japan to…deal with Aizen Sosuke."

"Very well, sir. I am Commander Lily Potter of the British Agency for the Protection of Spirits. I look forward to working with you."

The rest of us were introduced and we started walking out of the airport. I noticed they were taking us to a deserted place. There, we stopped and Mrs Potter nodded at James. He took this as a cue and tapped the air in front of him with two fingers. Then, the World Gate appeared. We all stared at it in awe for a while, as it was different from the one we used in Japan – It was a stone arch covering large oak doors. The arch, which followed the shape of the outer edge of the wooden doors exactly, was a triangular shape, with curved sides. It looked just like the entrance to a castle, except without the drawbridge. At the snap of James' fingers, the massive (at least 3 metres tall and roughly 1.5 metres wide) doors split open outwards at the centre, revealing the all-too-familiar dark passageway of what we call the Dangai Precipice World. After giving impressed sturgeon faces, we stepped inside and walked – towards England. There was no 'cleaner' inside the tunnel, something I was infinitely glad for, because we were still toting our luggage. I had no intention of running like hell while carrying heavy baggage. As we walked, Yumichika commented, "It's pretty dark…more so than the passageway we usually use."

James chuckled, "That's easily remedied."

He and Lily reached into their pockets and drew those sticks of theirs. Everyone immediately quietened down and paid attention. James had shown us some more magic tricks using that stick (a wand, he called it) before we boarded the plane and every one of us was drawn in by the strange art of magic, even Ikkaku, who detested Kido and anything related to it. Together, the two Brits held out their wands and chanted, "_Lumos Maxima!_"

The effects produced this time were two balls of light so intense that we all shut our eyes reflexively. When we opened our watery eyes, the two wizards smirked at us and let the balls move forward, lighting the path and giving us good visibility for what seemed like the next hundred metres. We moved on for another five or so minutes and reached the exit. When we stepped out, we blinked in surprise. Instead of arriving at the British Soul Society, as we had expected, we had arrived right in the Living World's Britain instead. It was night-time and we were in a deserted area, where there was a large row of white houses on one side of a narrow road. On the opposite side of the road to the houses, there was a row of shops, including some clothes retail outlets and a café. A signboard on the street identified the road as King's Road.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Chelsea! The time here is 11 pm, so please adjust your watches accordingly," said James cheerfully, "We have swanky living quarters waiting for you – that's where we'll be staying over the course of the mission."

They went over to the house with address 15 King's Road and opened the door with a key. We waited with bated breath, eager to check out our 'swanky living quarters'. We weren't disappointed. Just inside the door, there was a small corridor where we could place our footwear – it seemed they had thought of everything, including the Japanese habit of not wearing shoes indoors. We took off our shoes, relieved to be barefoot after the long flight and walk through the Dangai Precipice, and entered the threshold proper.

My breath was stolen from the first look. The living room was the first room, and while the floor area was average, the ceiling was very high up, with windows at the top to let in light. There was a flight of stairs leading to the second floor, where there were several mahogany doors along a corridor. The walls were mostly white and the floor had polished marble tiles.

Shirogane gasped, "So this is a western house? It looks beautiful!"

The others had already gone to explore the various parts of the house and the more childish ones (cough Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika and Rangiku-san cough) were arguing over which room was theirs.

"This room has the most beautiful view! Of course it was meant to be mine!" Yumichika practically sang, while preening himself, no doubt. Thank God I was spared that sight because I was still in the living room, sweat-dropping at their antics along with Rukia, while the Potters looked amused and Toshiro looked like he was about to blow his top.

"Umm…if you want to give them a scolding, go ahead."

"Thanks, Kurosaki. I think I will." He replied coolly and marched up the stairs. Rukia turned to the Potters wearily "I'd cover my ears if I were you."

"YOU IDIOTS! STOP ARGUING LIKE CHILDREN!"

And instantly, the wolves that had been at each others' throats over the best rooms in the house became meek little lambs who took whatever their shepherd Toshiro gave them. The others laughed at my analogy and we set out to take the rooms left behind for ourselves. But Toshiro suddenly called out, "By the way, this holiday isn't entirely paperwork-free! The officers will still have to do whatever paperwork ends up on their laps, and the nominees will have to do what's normally done by the captain."

A loud "Aww!" was heard from all the corners of the house, and I chuckled.

"That includes you as well, Kurosaki! You're an official member of the Gotei-13 now!"

"Aww!" Now it was James' turn to chuckle at my predicament…until Lily grinned at him and said, "That goes for you as well, Lieutenant Potter!"

"Aww, Lily!"

Hinamori Momo came over to me, smiling sweetly. My instincts went on alert – when a woman comes to you smiling like that, it rarely bodes well for you.

"Here's the paperwork waiting for you, Kurosaki-san!" I glared at her and took it sourly. As I read it, my look softened. It wasn't particularly difficult; just budget and training instructions to the Fifth Division soldiers. The training was easy enough to manage, and I'd done budget-related stuff for Student Council before anyway. The only thing I needed to know was the nature of the Fifth Division so I could allocate funds effectively, and that was covered by Hinamori, who gave me a rough idea of how to do it. In the end, working at the study table in my room, I finished the work while everyone else was stuck halfway – I knew this because Rukia came into my room to give me to check on me and told me of their progress. She was shocked that I was done so fast – looks like the work done for Council under strict deadlines had paid off. A reward was in order! I went over to the pantry on the second floor and took for myself a bottle of Pokka™ Green Tea from the small fridge there. Under the command of the tyrant Toshiro, we had started paperwork almost as soon as we had 'checked in' to 15 King's Road, so we had had no chance to look around the house. While taking small sips from my bottle, I went walkabout.

There was a small attic, accessible by a ladder and a trapdoor in the ceiling – at the end of the corridor where everyone's rooms were. There was also a basement, accessible by a staircase behind the main one that led upstairs to that same corridor. It was dark and there were no electric lights, so I decided to come back next time when I had a torch. The Kitchen was in the bottom floor and its entrance was close to the staircase. I went back up the stairs to the corridor and counted the number of doors – 14 altogether. Each Shinigami had his or her own room and the Potters shared one room. That left two additional rooms. One was the pantry where I had gotten my drink. So, what was the other one? I opened the door slowly and stepped inside.

"Ah crap! We've been found out – oh wait…it's just Ichigo," This came from Renji, who was inside the room along with Hisagi-san and James. All three were holding cans of beer in their hands and seated at a table – so it was a conference room. And what were these three doing here? I asked, and Renji answered, "Avoiding paperwork, like a boss!" much to James' amusement. Hisagi-san rolled his eyes and said, "Don't lump me in with you two – I've already finished my work. Care to join us, Kurosaki-san?"

"Sure. Call me Ichigo."

He nodded with a smile and pulled up a chair at the table.

"So…what have you guys been up to the past 17 months after the War ended?"

Hisagi and Renji grinned at one another.

"We both went to Israel for a training stint. It lasted about a year. They taught us some really good stuff, and we also taught them some kido,"

"Seriously – Israel? You mean their Soul Society?" I asked, amazed.

"Yeah. We both learned Krav Maga there. Pretty kickass stuff."

I nodded – I knew what Krav Maga was, from watching _Human Weapon_. It was a deadly martial arts style developed in Israel.

"Wow, that's pretty amazing, you guys. Looks like the human pineapple has been working hard!"

The others cracked up while Renji seethed in anger.

"I'd like to know what the hell you've been doing, slacker!"

I became slightly uncomfortable. Not that I'd been slacking over the past 17 months, but I couldn't just tell them I had been doing really basic stuff like kido or sealing my own sword. I needed something impressive!

"Well, nothing big. Training with Tatsuki on improving my hand-to-hand skills and stuff."

It wasn't a complete lie. I watched _Human Weapon_, learned martial arts from the show and occasionally tested my skills with Tatsuki, who was up anytime for a spar with her old friend.

"That's just what we need! Come test your skills with me sometime!" cackled Renji.

I forced out a laugh, really sweating. If it was just hand-to-hand combat, there was probably little chance I could beat Renji, who had received an actual training course from the experts. And God only knew how much his physical strength had increased over the past 17 months. Damn it! I now had to avoid _him_ like I avoided _Kenpachi_!

Pushing my fears aside – there was a time and a place for a spar, and I would worry about it when that time came, rather than fretting about it now – I finished the last of my green tea and asked, "So…what's next on the agenda?"

James answered, "The Agency is still trying to find Aizen. Once they have some leads, they'll pass it on to us and we follow it."

Something's on my mind, though, "Hisagi-san said, "What do we do about the Wizards? I understand we'll be given lessons in magic and everything, but do you think we might need to infiltrate their society or anything?"

I said, "Yeah…I was thinking about that too. It'd be just like Aizen to hide in a place we know little about, or…among people we don't know much about."

"We should probably explore that angle. Last time, we went into Hueco Mundo because we had to rescue Inoue – that's a friend of ours, James – Our infiltration took place entirely on his own terms. Now, it's probably wise to infiltrate what could possibly be his territory, and do it on our own terms."

"Agreed. As the nominees, we have to choose how this is done, and who does it," said Hisagi, who reached for a notepad and pen that had been lying on the table for the secretary, and started taking notes. I looked at them in surprise – what had started out as a slacking session had turned into a full-blown strategy meeting – but went with the flow and turned on 'meeting mode'.

"We already know there's a Ministry of Magic…could we start there? They control the Wizarding population, so if we infiltrate them, we should gain a lot of useful information." I suggested.

James commented, "True. It's probably a good idea to have at least one person inside the Ministry to check on what's going on. But, I should say that's not good enough."

He broke off, looking somewhat dejected.

"What'd you mean 'not good enough'?"

"The Ministry's become less competent since the end of the war. I'm not sure if they get all the information they should be getting. Wait – I haven't told you guys about the War, have I?" Our looks of cluelessness were all the proof he needed that he hadn't told us about any war. Sighing, James got up and walked over to a whiteboard on a stand that was placed nearby.

"The War changes everything!" he said, and started writing the following words on the board with a marker.

Lord Voldemort

Albus Dumbledore

Harry Potter

Ministry of Magic

We raised our eyebrows, and when he was done writing, he said, "Time for a basic course in Modern Wizarding History!"

He pointed to the first name and said, "Lord Voldemort is the bad guy here. He was what we called a Dark Wizard – no prizes for guessing what that means. Among Wizards, there are three types: Pure-Bloods, whose entire family is made of wizards and Muggle-borns, who are born to muggles, in other words, non-magical folk. The third type is called Half-Bloods, and they are of mixed wizard and muggle heritage. I'm a Pure-blood wizard and my wife Lily is a Muggle-born."

"Voldemort was a fanatic and subscribed to the idea of blood purity – that muggle-borns are not fit to be wizards. He was also against muggles themselves, thinking that they were weak and sub-human. He declared war on Muggles, Muggle-borns…and anyone who opposed him or his views. And that brings us to the second name on this list – Albus Dumbledore."

Before he could continue, a female voice cut in, "He's quite possibly the most powerful wizard in the world. It's been said that he's the only one Voldemort ever really feared."

James closed his mouth, which had been hanging open in surprise, and said in an overly-airy tone, "Lily! How nice of you to join us!"

Copying him, Lily said, "James! How nice of you to abandon your work and come here for a 'beer with the pals'!"

"Well…that's how it started, but we're doing serious work now!"

"I don't see how discussing past events counts as serious work!"

"They want to see how to…approach this problem from the perspective of the Wizarding Society! I'm providing them with useful pointers and information! They can't just ignore something as big as the War!"

Lily looked at me and demanded, "Is this true?"

I answered earnestly, "Yeah. We really need to know more. Last time, we really attempted to fight Aizen without knowing too much about him and it really cost us. We…really want to be prepared this time." _God, that sounded weird_. I should stop using the word 'really' so much. But Lily appeared mollified by my answer. She took a seat and said, "Well, I'll observe and help Professor Potter with his lecture, in that case. Carry on, James."

James smiled nervously and continued from where he had left off, "Like Lily just said, Albus Dumbledore is a powerful wizard. He's been asked multiple times to become the Minister of Magic, but he declined all the time, stating that he was much more interested in his position as the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and teaching kids to use magic."

Lily, who had borrowed Hisagi's notepad to look at what we'd been discussing before she arrived, said, "Speaking of Hogwarts, it could be a possible point of interest. A lot happens there, so it might be worth infiltrating."

James nodded and said, "Dumbledore is a good man; he stuck up for the rights of Muggles and Muggle-born wizards and witches. He was a major participant in the war against Voldemort. The war continued for many years, right under the noses of Muggles. Both sides suffered heavily, although it was mostly our side because the enemy liberally used dark magic while we were forbidden from doing so by our laws. It was pretty one-sided unless you were powerful enough. Then, one day, the war ended, just like that."

The three of us nominees, who had been hanging onto every word, blinked simultaneously when he uttered that last sentence.

"What-just like that? What exactly happened? This 'dark lord' just passed out and died?" asked Renji.

"Surprisingly…things went something like that!" said James, "That brings us to the third name on the list – Harry Potter."

He fell silent and Lily let out a long sigh at the name.

"Voldemort came to kill Harry when he was just a baby, because for some reason, he considered him a threat." Indignant cries came from all of us when Lily said this. He targeted a _child_? What sort of coward does that?

"His parents were killed, but at the point when Voldemort fired a spell at the infant to kill him, the spell somehow rebounded and hit Voldemort himself, killing him. Harry survived, and the Wizarding War ended that night."

Renji laughed out loud at this, "So the baby really was a badass and a threat to him! Shame about the parents, though!"

Hisagi and I glared at him. Was he really this idiotic? Had he not realised the connection between Harry _Potter_ and James and Lily _Potter_? Granted, James and Lily had not explicitly stated the nature of their relationship with Harry, but one could easily make an accurate guess. Speaking quietly, Hisagi popped the question, "That's…_your_ son you're talking about, right?"

Immediately, Renji shut up and a look of shock came over him. James nodded, thin-lipped. "I'm so sorry," breathed Renji.

"It's alright. That was a long time ago. We've dealt with not being able to see our son."

"Why can't you see him? If you used a fake body, you can still meet him and talk to him, right?"

James shook his head and said tightly, "Nope. Agency Laws expressly forbid us from interacting with living humans unless it's necessary. Our predicament doesn't count as 'necessary'. We've watched him whenever possible, though. Our commanding officer was kind; whenever patrol duty – meaning keeping Hollows at bay in the Living World – fell to us, he would let us take the town where Harry lived. We've guarded him against malevolent spirits and Hollows wherever possible. But…he doesn't know we're still…around."

I asked softly, "He's studying at Hogwarts right now, isn't he?"

"Yeah. It's the summer break now, but in two months, the new academic year starts. He'll be starting his Third Year, out of a total of seven years, then."

Lily said, "A lot of things have happened in Hogwarts while he was there. Getting back to the subject of infiltration, the Ministry of Magic is a pretty peaceful place compared to what Hogwarts has become. Something bad has happened every year for the past two years – and that was the time for which Harry was at Hogwarts. And we heard that, for both years, Harry was right in the thick of it."

I shrugged, "Looks like we can't go without infiltrating the school, then. Who wants to do it?"

Hisagi pulled a face, "I'm…not very good with kids."

"Neither am I. But who says we have to go? We could get captain Hitsugaya to issue an order to one of the lower-ranked Shinigami on our team to go. I'm sure Mihane wouldn't mind," Said Renji.

I disagreed, "No, it's better if one of us goes. There's no point in sticking together and focusing on leads at this point in time. It's better if we spread out and cover a larger area. I think one of us nominees should go with one or two others to cover Hogwarts. Perhaps another one of us can go to the Ministry with a partner. The third nominee can stay here and cover the non-wizarding world with the rest of the team."

"Good thinking, Kurosaki. That's what I would do in a situation like this." We all snapped our necks at the one who had spoken – Toshiro himself.

"Since when were you here?" I demanded.

"Ever since you asked who wanted to cover the School," He replied and looked at the notes which had been updated by Lily. "Anyway, as I was saying, Kurosaki's idea is a good one. What say the rest of you?"

Hisagi said reluctantly, "Well, it's not a bad plan…"

"This is _your_ mission. My role here is not to command you, but to give advice and assess your skills. If you have a good reason to disagree with Kurosaki, give it to us. Don't just shut your mouth because I said it was a good plan and you don't want to disagree with me."

Renji volunteered, "Well, we don't know any magic, or anything about Wizarding Society. We might get lost in trying to fit in and lose sight of the goal."

Hisagi added, "Aizen may have ignored the Wizarding society altogether. In that case, our efforts at Hogwarts may be wasted. We should wait to find out more about Aizen's activities before we make the decision to go to Hogwarts."

I argued, "Aizen has sided with Hollows before, going against all conventional wisdom. I think if he knew about Wizards, which is highly likely, he would get involved with them somehow so that he can catch us off-guard, at the very least. Hisagi-san made a valid point about waiting to find out more, but we may not have that much time. If he really has links to wizards, we mustn't hesitate to infiltrate the wizarding world as soon as possible."

Renji decided to find a middle ground this time, "The idea that Aizen has links to the wizarding world is built mostly on theories – but these are valid theories. Maybe we can send just one nominee there with at most two members of the team, and the remaining two nominees stay behind to look after things in…the non-wizarding society."

His point was hard to refute, and so, the rest of us agreed.

"Since I argued in favour of it, I'll go cover Hogwarts…James and Lily, I take it you both learned magic at Hogwarts? What's the best way to infiltrate?"

James thought about it for a while and said, "Well, that's a tough one. Hogwarts students range from 11 to 17 years old, where the youngest students are in first year and the oldest are in seventh year. You look about the same age as a Seventh-year student, but since you have no knowledge of magic, you can't convincingly pass as a seventh-year. It'd be like asking a toddler to masquerade as a University student."

"But if we choose two of the younger-looking members of our team, they can go to First or Second Year, right? If Second-years are 12 years old, I think Rukia and Hinamori can convincingly pass as Second-Year students," I said.

Lily answered, "Yes. There's nobody in the team who looks young enough for first year, so we'll have to settle for second year. We still have two months, so we can teach those two everything taught to first-year students, so they can convincingly take on those roles. We can write to Dumbledore, saying that they've finished first year at another school but they want to continue their education at Hogwarts. But…I really don't know how you can infiltrate, Ichigo."

We sat in silence, stumped by this problem. Someone suggested that Toshiro should go in my place, but he never got to finish what he wanted to say (that Toshiro could convincingly enter First Year), because the room got chokingly cold from his reiatsu. In a voice colder than the Siberian Winter, Toshiro reminded us that he was here to observe, not to play an overly active role, and that he was not a child, thank you very much. When the room was warm again, Lily made a suggestion.

"Ichigo…you're too old to be a student at Hogwarts…so why not join as a staff member instead?"

"Wh-what? You want me to work there?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, why not?" smiled James, "You told me your father is a doctor and that you've been helping him out for a long time – you could become a medical support staff member. Madam Pomfrey, the matron, has a few assistants; one more couldn't hurt!"

I protested, "I have a First-Aid Certificate, but that doesn't make me a doctor or a paramedic! Besides, the nurses use magic, no doubt. I can't do healing magic!"

"There are two months left! We can teach you enough healing magic by that time. If you concentrate on the work, you can become a reasonably good healer in those two months. And besides, a first-aid cert is sufficient, as most injuries are minor anyway. Cuts and bruises from accidents or fights, or a fractured arm. Anything more severe can be looked at by Madam Pomfrey herself."

"But still!" I protested.

James said, with an air of finality, "Then, we'll sign you up, not as a professional, but as an intern. If you go as an intern who wants to get some work experience, then Dumbledore will surely let you join. You'll be more of a student than a staff-member, so less will be expected of you." When I still appeared uncertain, he said exasperatedly, "Look, the only other thing you could possibly do is to join as a caretaker or something. Do you want that?"

I held up my hands in a placating manner and said, "Alright, alright! I'll do it! Sign me up as a medical intern, then!"

"Very good! We'll use false names to sign up Momo and Rukia as students, and later in the holidays, we'll sign up Ichigo as a medical intern."

Toshiro gave his approval to the plan and went to sleep, seeing as it was about 1 a.m. As Renji and Hisagi walked out, they clapped me on the shoulder, "Job well done, Ichigo. We'll be looking forward to your performance as a school nurse."

"Shut up!"

A few weeks later, Hogwarts

Third Person narrator's Point of View

Three letters sent from London had made their way to the desk of Professor Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she was wondering if it was a coincidence. Two girls, a Rukia Kuchiki and a Momo Hinamori, both apparently Japanese, had finished their first year in Japan. However, thanks to their moving to Britain (they both appeared to be living together, by the address), they had to continue their education at Hogwarts instead. The letters had been signed by their legal guardians in Britain; a Byakuya Kuchiki for Rukia and a Toshiro Hitsugaya for Momo. Unfortunately, there were no documents to support the claim that they had covered first year topics. So, a test had to be prepared for them. There were still three weeks to the start of term. She decided that the test would be held during the last week of the holidays. After that, the two of them could stay at Hogwarts for the last few days of the Holidays to familiarise themselves with their school; no point in sending them all the way back to London only to have them come back by the train. The test would cover all topics except for the sections of History of Magic which covered British history, as they would not have learned these under the Japanese curriculum. With that, she wrote her reply to both girls. The faster she sent the letters, the better, as they would have more time to prepare for the test.

_Dear Ms Kuchiki,_

_We are pleased to inform you that we are willing to accept you as a student starting her second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, given the demands of the curriculum, we must first ensure that your skills are up to scratch. In the absence of supporting documents from your previous school, I invite you to sit for a series of examinations on August the 27__th__. The subjects tested will include Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Defence against the Dark Arts and International History of Magic. Passing all these tests first will be a prerequisite to starting Second Year at Hogwarts. _

_We will send one of our staff members to 15 King's Road to pick you up on the 27__th__ of August. Please spend the remaining three weeks wisely, revising for the tests. If you are successful, you are welcome to stay at Hogwarts for the remaining few days of the Holidays._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Professor M. McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

The letter to Momo was exactly the same, except for the recipient's name. The third letter that had come in was unusual. An 18-year-old man – also Japanese – was applying to become a medical intern at Hogwarts. He even had the same address as the two girls – 15 King's Room. He had what he called a 'First-Aid Certificate', but that meant nothing to the deputy headmistress. So, she decided to consult the Headmaster.

Albus Dumbledore smiled when he saw the unusual letter, and told his Deputy, "That's an interesting request, Minerva. If he wants to be an intern, I suppose a First-Aid certificate is sufficient."

"You 'suppose', Albus? The safety of our students is a primary concern; we can't just let _anyone_ take such a job!"

"Minerva, Minerva, I fully understand, and I am every bit as concerned for our students as you are. But let's face it; most of Poppy's cases involve simple occurrences like nosebleeds and bruises. A Muggle First-Aid certificate is more than sufficient for such cases. And bear in mind that this young man, Ichigo Kurosaki, wishes to be an intern for learning purposes. He is here with the intention of being more a student than a professional healer, and I am loath to refuse such a request without at least meeting him in person and finding out more about him. Please schedule an interview with him, Minerva. I will see if he is capable."

And thus, a third letter was written.

_Dear Mr. Kurosaki,_

_We have received your request to join the Hogwarts staff as a medical intern, and we are pleased to inform you that you have been considered for the role. We would like to invite you to an interview on August the 27__th__, where we will evaluate your skills to check if you have the skills necessary to help out as a member of our Medical staff._

_A Hogwarts staff member will come to 15 King's Road on August 27__th__ to pick you up. If you are successful, you are welcome to stay at Hogwarts for the remaining few days of the Holidays._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Professor M. McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Professor McGonagall gingerly placed each letter in an envelope bearing the Hogwarts seal and clipped all three to a large, sturdy owl, which was sent to 15 King's Road, Chelsea. With these people from overseas suddenly asking to join Hogwarts, the next year was sure to be an interesting one, she reflected, as the owl flew off to its far-off destination.

_To be continued_

There really is a King's Road in Chelsea, London.

This story will contain a bit of the 'X goes to Hogwarts formula' as dubbed by reviewer Plural Force, but as you can see, only three members of the Shinigami Team are going to Hogwarts. A significant portion of the story happens outside Hogwarts as well. I chose Rukia and Hinamori as they fall within the average height of twelve-year-olds (based on information from the internet), so they can pass for second year students. The Bleach wiki has the heights and weights of most characters, and interestingly, based on her Body Mass Index, Rukia is actually underweight :/

Light Soceress…yes, more action words! That's the way to go. I wonder if I did it correctly, though.

The discussion between Toshiro and the three Captain Nominees is loosely based on a typical Differential Diagnosis scene from _House, M.D._ where Dr. Gregory House lists symptoms and his team members tick off suggestions for possible diseases. House encourages his members not to be shy about sharing their medical opinion, even if it disagrees with his own opinion.

Hogwarts will be coming up very soon!


	5. It's Not Rocket Science

The Next Great Adventure

I wish all you readers a very happy 2012, the Year of the Dragon!

This story is in Ichigo's point of view unless I state otherwise. There are quite a few footnotes for this chapter and I've marked them with numbers in superscript (i.e. 1, 2, etc). This chapter, we finally arrive at Hogwarts!

Chapter 5: It's Not Rocket Science

5 a.m., 27th of August

"So, I hope you all know what to do once you're there?"

"Yes, sir!" said Rukia, at the same time as Hinamori said, "Yeah, Hitsugaya-kun!" and I said, "Sure thing, Toshiro."

The diminutive Captain, dressed in a black polo T-shirt and grey jeans, had woken up early along with Hinamori, Rukia and me, to send us off to Hogwarts. He glared at me and Hinamori, but couldn't do anything because almost everyone else was asleep. Instead, he settled for shout-whispering at us, "It's _Captain Hitsugaya_!" How predictable.

"Well, whatever. I hope you all understand that this isn't to be taken lightly. While you go there in your disguises as students and a staff member, remember your mission: Take note of any unusual occurrences that might be linked to Spiritual activity – like people with abnormally high reiatsu, out-of-the-ordinary Hollow activity, and of course, Aizen's reiatsu and anything else that points to the bastard. And learn as much about magic as possible. It's good to be prepared if Aizen suddenly throws magic at us."

I nodded and adjusted my blazer and tie before checking my suitcase one last time. I had heard from the Potters that the staff at Hogwarts generally wore Wizards' robes, but I decided to go with my own – muggle – clothing instead. I wasn't going to be highly visible, and besides, as a medical staff member, they would give me another uniform to wear for work anyway – no point in going out of my way to purchase Wizarding robes. So, here I was dressed in a nice pale blue shirt with a tie and slacks with a matching black blazer, to make a good impression at the interview, just like they had taught us at school1. Hopefully the fact that I was Japanese would already have scored a few points in my favour, given the well-known Japanese reputation for diligence and good work ethic.

The girls, on the other hand, were dressed in smart blouses with skirts. They had already purchased their school robes, but it would have been pretentious to wear those to the tests. I smiled as I recalled going to buy our items – with wizarding money provided by the British Agency.

It had taken place several weeks ago, and we had gone to a pretty amazing place called Diagon Alley to pick up various things. Getting our wands was the most interesting of all – it was at a place called Ollivander's, named after the owner, for whom wand-making was apparently a family art. The owner was eccentric, but kindly, just like a stereotypical strange bachelor uncle who occasionally visits the family and is kind to the nephews. When he set about looking for a suitable wand2 for us, he had said mysteriously, "The wand chooses the wizard…it's not always clear why." It was an odd new experience to use a weapon like that, but, as Shinigami, we were no strangers to channelling our strength through instruments, even more so considering that these instruments had chosen us, rather than being chosen by us. Hinamori got an 11-inch Phoenix Feather core wand made of Hawthorn wood. Rukia's was 10 inches, Birch wood and Unicorn Hair core. Of all three, the most impressive belonged to – yes, you guessed it! – Yours truly! Mine was 11 inches, Holly wood (see what I did there?) and Thestral Hair core – something Ollivander was unused to, but still made once in a while. Once we got our wands, we decided to play around with our new toys – in secret, of course.

Rukia found a deserted alley and we stepped inside. She pointed her wand carefully at an empty bottle lying on the ground and said, "_Accio!_" just like James had done when he was showing off to us before we left Japan. Her eyes were screwed up in concentration and she was sweating slightly. The bottle moved forward very slowly and unsteadily – then fell over and smashed into pieces. I wasn't surprised – it was the first time she was actually attempting magic, since we had only learned _theoretical_ magic the past two weeks. I had also skimmed through the syllabus for first year students, and _Accio_, the summoning spell, was not in it, so it was obviously meant for students of a higher level.

"How the hell did Potter-san do that? It seemed so easy when he did it!" complained Rukia. Hinamori decided to try next. She took out the Standard Book of Spells, Second Edition, which we had bought less than an hour ago at the bookshop, Flourish and Blotts.

She pointed her wand at the bottle and chanted, "_Reparo_," with one eye on the bottle and one on her book, checking if she had done it right. The individual pieces of the bottle came back together as if an invisible hand was assembling the bottle like a 3-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. The girl smiled and said excitedly, "_Yatta!_" – The Japanese exclamation generally uttered upon success.

My turn! I took the spellbook as well and leafed through its contents, before finding a suitable spell.

"_Reducto!_" the bottle disintegrated on the spot with a spectacular explosion of glass. Hinamori glared at me as I realised that it was probably not the best spell to use after she had just repaired it. Oh well, sorry for wasting your efforts, Hinamori. We continued randomly using spells, but the fun and games ended once I decided to try casting _Lumos Maxima_. I happened to point my wand at the sky, and I also happened to use too much power at once. Magical power was proportional to reiatsu, it seemed, and I had so much of it that what seemed like a second sun was instantly created over Diagon Alley. People stopped and stared at it for a second, but then they resumed whatever they were doing. I heard one man muttering, "Stupid kids," as he walked away. Looks like magical screw-ups were fairly normal here. Unable to stand the intense light, someone drew their wand, pointed it at the sky and snapped, "_Evanesco!_" and the ball of light disappeared.

Rukia laughed, "That reminds me of what happened to Renji when he attempted _Shakkaho_ for the first time! You're lucky that ball of light didn't explode in your face!"

I gave her a dark look, "Keep it up and I'll make something explode in your face, midget!"

I got a kick in the shin for that and ended up limping for the rest of the journey. Shopping for the rest of the items was pretty boring – robes for the girls, a cauldron for their potions work and a pointless visit to the pet shop – I say pointless because no pets were bought; nobody was interested in cats, owls, rats or toads, and also, Toshiro expressly forbade us from getting anything there. Once we had gotten everything, we had a sundae at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, then went back to 15 King's Road.

Two tutors had been called in from the Agency for our lessons starting from two weeks before our jaunt to Diagon Alley. One taught the girls everything they needed to know for their tests and the other taught me the same subjects the girls took, but with a slant towards healing purposes. It was tough, as they taught me spells taken from the syllabi of all seven years at Hogwarts. Normally, this would be madness for a Hogwarts student, but I had been through a lot and knew how to learn things quickly because I desperately needed those skills. Putting the same mindset to use here, I picked up magic quickly and became adept in those few weeks. In addition, the prospect of turning from a fresh high school graduate to a decent Magical healer was daunting, but, hey, since when have I been unable to achieve something I set my mind to? It wasn't exactly rocket science anyway. I worked hard, as did the girls, and we were deemed up to scratch ahead of schedule, much to the pleasant surprise of our tutors. We shrugged off their compliments – after all, this was merely a means to an end, and if we didn't do it, the mission would become much harder.

Anyway, that was what happened in the past few weeks, and now, it was August the 27th, the day we were supposed to depart for Hogwarts. A few minutes after Toshiro gave us his boring talk about the mission, he left to get more sleep. Just after that, someone knocked on our door.

"Hello? Anyone home? I'm from Hogwarts!" came a deep rumbling voice.

I opened the door saying, "Yeah, come on in! We've been expecting…you," I broke off awkwardly, noticing that the person in front of us was not so much a man as a freaking _giant_. I estimated his height to be close to thrice that of Karin's height. Compared to him, even Kenpachi would probably appear somewhat normal-sized. He also looked extremely wild, with bushy black hair and a seemingly untameable tangle of a beard that hid part of his face. He was dressed in a moleskin overcoat. My first instinct was fear – but then I saw his eyes. Those weren't the eyes of a merciless killer, nor were they the eyes of a wild animal, or a person who only followed their instincts – Believe me, I've seen those eyes so often, having had to deal with Hollows, Arrancar and most of all, the hollow within me. On the other hand, this man had kind eyes. I could trust him. I found my voice once again and said, "You're from Hogwarts, eh? Come on in."

The man smiled and stepped inside, having to bow deeply in order to fit through the door frame.

"Don' mind if I do! By the way, my name is Rubeus Hagrid – yeh can call me Hagrid. I'm the Keeper o' Keys at Hogwarts."

"Well, nice to meet you…Hagrid. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Oh, you're the new nurse!"

My eyebrow twitched, "Yes…I'm the new _nurse_," I practically choked out the last word.

We passed through the tiny corridor meant for footwear and into the living room itself, and Rukia and Hinamori got up from the couch with polite smiles, which turned to looks of shock as they saw our unusual visitor. Hagrid greeted them cheerfully and the three forced smiles and gave overly-enthusiastic greetings as well offers of a cup of tea.

"Thanks fer the tea! Now then, the portkey is set ter activate in 10 minutes. All packed?"

"Yeah. We spent all night on it!" answered Rukia.

"So yeh've got all yer school stuff already. Even though yeh've still got the test later?"

Rukia regarded him coolly and replied, "Yes, we understand we might not get accepted. But we don't intend to fail, Hagrid."

Hagrid looked somewhat surprised at her words and the quietly fierce tone in which they had been uttered, but then burst out laughing.

"That's good spirit yeh've got there! I'm sure yeh'll pass, with that attitude!" and the girls smiled.

After a few more minutes, Hagrid started rummaging around the massive moleskin coat he was wearing and finally found what he was looking for.

"Ah! Here it is," he said and placed a small shiny kettle on the floor.

"That's our portkey ter Hogwarts. Grab yer things and place a finger on it!"

"What's a portkey? Why must we touch this?"

"You'll see in a minute!" said Hagrid cheerfully, and placed a finger on the kettle. Uncertainly, the three of us did so as well, holding onto our luggage with our free hands. In a minute, as Hagrid had promised, we found out what a portkey was. We felt a strange sensation, like someone had attached a hook to our stomachs and was pulling it hard. We were so startled by the effect that we forgot to look around us and by the time the sensation stopped, we had no idea what had happened. We were also in an entirely different place. No longer were we at 15 King's Road; we were now in what looked like a village with thatched cottages. It was pretty cold – especially considering that autumn hadn't even properly kicked in. I took in the early-morning view of the village, enjoying the last fragments of summer and muttered, "How quaint!"

"Welcome ter Hogsmeade! From here, it's a short walk ter Hogwarts!" boomed Hagrid in the same cheerful tone. We walked through the main street of the village, aptly named High Street, and when we got to the end of the road, a marvellous sight was waiting for us.

"Whoa," breathed Rukia, feasting her eyes on the great castle that stood on a cliff a few hundred metres ahead of us. Right in front of us, there was a lake, and the cliff was on the opposite edge of the lake itself. Right at the water's edge was a large boat. While we were gaping at the castle, Hagrid had untied the boat and was standing on it.

"Well, come on! We haven' got all day!"

We snapped out of our stupor and got into the boat with him. The boat propelled itself forward on the water and moved towards the cliff in a straight line. Rukia and Hinamori were enjoying themselves; they even emulated the titanic scene at the front of the boat, much to Hagrid's bemusement. I shrugged at him as I kicked back and relaxed at the back. Soon, we had reached the cliff itself. The castle was directly above us. Instead of going around the cliff and climbing up the slope like I thought we would, the boat went directly into a cave at the bottom of the cliff. It was dark inside the cave, but it was nothing a spot of magic wouldn't fix. I took out my wand.

"_Lumos Maxima!_" this time, the spell was cast expertly and the ball of light I produced was neither too bright nor too dim. It provided just the right amount of light – not that it was needed, for we reached the underground shore very soon. It also led to a bit of teasing from Rukia, who got a kick out of pretending to be amazed at the meagre spell I had 'successfully not screwed up', in her own words. Damned midget.

We proceeded to climb up a flight of stairs. At the end, there was a massive door. Hagrid lifted a hand the size of a trash can lid and knocked on the door thrice. It opened to reveal two people: one elderly woman and a youngish man. The woman looked very stern, with glasses and her hair tied in a tight bun, barely visible under a pointed hat cocked slightly to one side. She was in tartan print robes. The man had greasy black hair and was in pitch black robes. His eyes were empty black pools and he had a rather…cruel mouth, for want of a better word.

"The new students…and the nurse, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape."

I coughed into my palm as the professors stared at me, "I prefer the term 'medical intern'…How long are you going to keep this up, Hagrid?"

The Hairy Hulk laughed at me before taking our bags and walking through the set of doors in front of us.

"Well, I've got ter go now! I'll keep your bags in the waiting area so you can collect them later. See yeh at the feast!"

The professors nodded at him as we said goodbye, then the woman said, "Welcome to Hogwarts, Mr. Kurosaki, Ms Kuchiki and Ms Hinamori. I am the deputy headmistress, Professor McGonagall. Girls, please follow me; I will administer your tests. Mr. Kurosaki, please follow Professor Snape. He will bring you to your interview. She walked through the doors with the girls in tow. I called out, "Good luck!" to them as they left.

"Yeah, you too!"

The other professor, Snape, said emotionlessly, "Follow me." I nodded and walked after him as he took me through several corridors. We eventually got to a sort of atrium, which had multiple floors and each floor was joined by staircases – the interesting part was that they were moving about, turning from one floor to another. Snape snapped his fingers and one moved over to where we were, establishing a connection from our floor to two floors above.

"That's a neat trick," I commented. Snape simply nodded. His silence was slightly perturbing, but I could live with it. After all, Sado and I spent most of our time together as friends in companionable silence. However, he unexpectedly spoke once we had reached the upper floor.

"You and your companions seem quite confident,"

I was surprised by this comment, but realised it was quite obvious, given we had brought our luggage along – as if it was guaranteed that we were going to pass. Like we hadn't even considered the possibility that we might fail and be sent back.

"Well, it probably looks that way. But we…don't intend to fail." I said, borrowing Rukia's phrase from earlier, "Going in confident is half the battle won."

He nodded, but I could tell he was still quite cynical. Well, whatever. He must have had a dark and tragic past…or he was just trying to outdo the late Ulquiorra Cifer in emotionless-ness, if such a word exists, and denial of the human heart. After a short while, we reached a classroom. Snape knocked on the door twice, then opened it.

"Mr. Kurosaki is here, Headmaster."

A voice came from inside, "Thank you, Severus. Send him in."

I went inside, and saw two people seated at a large table. There was another chair in front of the table, presumably for me. One of them was a woman dressed in a dark brown nurse uniform with a white apron and a white cloth on her head. The other was a very striking man, dressed in midnight blue robes and a pointed hat. He had long white hair and a silver beard that hung till his waist level. The only beard I had seen that was more impressive than this was that of Yamamoto himself. He had a broken nose and striking blue eyes – which looked as if they could see into your soul itself. I smiled at them, "Morning."

They smiled too, and returned the greeting – the woman gave a prim 'good morning' while the man returned the greeting with gusto. They introduced themselves – the woman was Madam Poppy Pomfrey, the head nurse, and the man was Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Please take a seat, Mr. Kurosaki. Thank you for taking the time out to meet us. How do you feel today?"

"Oh – I feel fine. How are you?"

"In the pink of health, thank you," Quipped Dumbledore. What an unusual man! The woman frowned slightly at him and said, "So, it says here in your _résumé that you've spent 6 years as a doctor's assistant. Could you describe your time there and the things you learned?"_

_I nodded and answered, "The doctor in question is my father – he's a general practitioner. I would usually help him out after school. Over the course of the 6 years I spent helping out, I learned how to administer simple tests with or without instruments, like taking blood pressure, testing for motor reflexes, heart rate, temperature, even diagnosing simple diseases and prescribing medicine – all done under supervision, of course – I'm not a qualified doctor. There was even one time I helped my father resuscitate a patient going into cardiac arrest using CPR."_

Pomfrey raised an eyebrow, "That sounds like an impressive record for a boy your age. I hope you realise that we won't have much of the equipment found in muggle hospitals or clinics. How is your knowledge of Healing Magic?"

I reached into the briefcase I had been toting and took out a paper, which I handed to her.

"This is my certificate for a course in healing magic I took recently. It's up to Level 2: The use of potions and herbal medication for treatment of illnesses. Needless to say, I've also completed Level 1: Healing Spells. And, yes, I do understand that in Hogwarts infirmary, I may not find the tools normally used in a Muggle clinic, but some of the skills I've learned, especially First-Aid, can be used without instruments and can still be applied to cases at Hogwarts."

They nodded, seemingly mollified by the fact that I at least had a magical certificate. They asked some further questions on my background and other things – questions I sailed through with ease. Soon, the interview drew to a close, but Dumbledore had one final question.

"Tell me: What would you do for someone who was affected badly by dementors?"

I started sweating slightly. I had no idea how to treat someone affected by dementors. Madam Pomfrey also appeared slightly put off by the question.

"Really, Headmaster, that's not something to expect of a wizard of his level! I understand and appreciate your concern, but – "

I cut in, "Antidepressants."

"I beg your pardon?" asked Pomfrey. I continued talking, without actually knowing. I had a train of thought going, and I was simply thinking out loud based on my knowledge of dementors, "Dementors cause depression and anxiety in their victims, so administer an antidepressant, like Prozac™"

They seemed to have no idea what I was talking about. Shockingly, neither did I. I had little idea about the Prozac™. I just blurted it out, knowing that it was prescribed for treatment of depression. But then, I got a hold of my own thoughts. Prozac™ may be wrong, but they did not need to know that. In a much more careful, measured voice, I said, "In the absence of the drug Prozac™, there is a suitable substitute."

"And what, pray tell, is that?" quizzed Madam Pomfrey.

I reached into my briefcase and drew something I sometimes carried around with me, in case I was out somewhere and got hungry.

"Chocolate," I answered, impressively, unwrapping the chocolate sweet I had retrieved from my bag and popping it into my mouth. "Want one? I've got more."

Pomfrey politely declined, but Dumbledore gladly accepted the sweet from me.

"Very well answered, Mr. Kurosaki. Chocolate is probably the best thing to give someone affected by Dementors. I apologise for asking such a question; it is as Madam Pomfrey has said – it's not a question asked of people of your level. But it's good that you know these things, considering recent events."

I was ignorant of these 'recent events', but decided not to show it. It seemed a good impression had already been made – I wasn't going to ask them an irrelevant question at this stage. The two staff members talked among themselves for a short while and Dumbledore turned to me with a smile when they were done.

"Alright, we have made our decision. Welcome to the Hogwarts team, Mr. Kurosaki!" He extended his hand and I shook it, beaming (damn, my face is going to hurt from the constant smiling). We left the room and Madam Pomfrey showed me where the hospital wing and my living quarters were (Hagrid had already taken my belongings there). From the hospital wing, there was a clear view of the grounds outside the castle. There was a grassy plain and a small hut at the end, just at the edge of the great wooden forest near Hogwarts.

"Well, this is the Hospital Wing. Take some time to familiarise yourself with it. You won't have any uniform, but please do wear a lab coat when you report for work. From now, you're free till September the first, when the school term begins. Professor McGonagall sent word earlier that your friends, the two girls, will be done with their tests at 1 pm. Lunch will be held after that."

I checked my watch. It was only 10.30 am. Not surprising, considering how early we had set off from 15 King's Road.

"Madam Pomfrey…who lives down there? In that hut?"

"That hut? That's where Hagrid lives. He's the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Just beyond the hut is the Forbidden Forest. It's out of bounds to students. You can go inside if you like, but I highly discourage it, mind you."

"I see. He seemed ok when I met him. Maybe I'll go pay him a visit later." I commented, and set out to explore the Hospital Wing. It was a large room with massive windows and several plain beds with white sheets. There was a small bedside table as well as a privacy curtain around each bed. I opened the medical cabinet, and saw a whole load of potions in bottles for various healing purposes. However, among the mix, there were some surprising items: some hypodermic syringes, a phlebotomy kit for drawing blood, some aspirin, a small bottle of diazepam, a drug used to control seizures and reduce anxiety in patients. There was even a bottle of…Prozac™. I raised my eyebrows at Madam Pomfrey, whose back was turned to me – So she did know what Prozac™ was! With my tour of the facilities done, I decided to go see Hagrid. My reason for seeing him was mainly to find out about the 'recent events' that Dumbledore had hinted at. Hagrid seemed an unassuming sort of guy; I could ask him without appearing like an idiot.

A short while later

Hagrid opened the door.

"If it isn' Ichigo! Come on in!" He boomed. I grinned at him and was about to step in, when a great black mass leapt on me – it was a large dog, and it was licking my face.

"Back, Fang! Back!" roared Hagrid, pulling the dog off me. I slowly got up and wiped my face with a tissue. He apologised profusely.

"Don't worry; I've met more violent…animals," I panted, thinking of a certain Espada with catlike attributes.

"Ah, so yeh've got the job!" He said this based on my lab coat, which I was still wearing.

"Yeah. I kept it on because of the cold. Thanks." I said as he poured me a hot cup of tea. I took a sip of the excellent tea and put it down.

"So, Hagrid, when I met Dumbledore, he mentioned some recent events involving Dementors. What's going on?"

Hagrid looked rather crestfallen as I asked the question.

"Umm, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"No, it's alrigh'. Just…dementors…nasty creatures, those things. It gives me the shivers, jus' thinking of 'em."

"You know from experience, don't you? I only know what I read about them in books." It was true. Over the course of my magical study in the summer break, which had lasted the past few weeks, I had learned about magical creatures, including dementors. The textbook described them as dark creatures that thrive in gloomy, filthy places and feed off positive human emotion. They could even suck out a person's soul with what was known and dreaded as _the Dementor's Kiss_. I had checked this with James Potter, who had clarified that the Agency's research had revealed that the Dementor's Kiss did not actually take the soul, as wizards believed, but rather, it left the victim as a vegetable. The victim would then live out the rest of his or her life in that state, and upon death, the person's soul would depart for Soul Society.

Oddly enough, the vegetative state was the diagnosis given by muggle doctors who had happened to examine Kiss victims, and their sound judgement was scoffed at as an example of muggle ignorance by wizards. This was also the reason why the Agency had taken no action against dementors – they did not technically threaten the soul, so there was no reason for _Soul Society_ to take action.

Hagrid nodded to my question and said, "I'll tell yeh what's been going on recently. A dangerous man called Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban prison. Dementors have been let loose ter search for him. They decided ter guard the school with them as well, 'cause they have reason ter believe he's after Harry Potter."

I was initially surprised at this answer, but then again, the son of James and Lily was known to get in the thick of trouble at Hogwarts.

Without thinking, I asked, "Is it something to do with…umm, Voldemort? Did I pronounce that name correctly?"

Hagrid reacted quite badly to my question. He gasped loudly, followed by a sharp intake of breath. At the same time, he dropped his cup of tea, and it shattered on the floor.

"Pl-please don' ever say that name again!"

"Oh…sorry," I said sheepishly as I cast the _Reparo_ spell on the cup, mending it. I put the wand back in my coat with a slight smile. Magic really was awesome.

"Anyway…yea, it has ter do with…You-Know-Who," He said in a hushed voice, like he was afraid the dark wizard would hear him. "Sirius Black was a great supporter of You-Know-Who. And Harry caused his death as an infant, as yeh know. I figure Black wants revenge."

"So that's why Dementors are posted here. And that's why Dumbledore asked me if I knew what to give someone who was exposed to a dementor."

"He asked yeh that? Well, I suppose it's good to have someone with that kinda knowledge."

We chatted about various things and soon, it was almost 1 pm. I bade Hagrid goodbye and went back to the castle. Rukia and Hinamori's exams should be almost over by now. Following their reiatsu signatures, which were not entirely blocked by their fake bodies (yes, I can actually follow the 'scent' of others' reiatsu), I made my way to the exam venue, a certain classroom in the almost-deserted castle. There were five more minutes to 1 pm. I took out my phone to see if I could call HQ (i.e. 15 King's Road) to tell them I had succeeded in getting the job, but to my dismay, I could not get a signal3. Oh well. I ended up whiling away the five minutes playing Bunny Shooter4 – the biggest reason why I never let Rukia touch my phone.

The door opened, and out stepped Professor McGonagall with the two girls. The professor took one look at my coat and said, "Congratulations on getting the internship, Mr. Kurosaki. I think you'll be pleased to note that the two young ladies have passed with flying colours."

"Well, congratulations, you two." I grinned at them. The professor said, "Come with me; we can have some lunch now. After that, you can go to your dormitories, where you'll stay for the academic year. The two girls have already been sorted; they are both in Gryffindor House – which is the house I'm in charge of."

"Sorting? What's that all about?" I asked. I was promised an answer afterwards. Lunch was a pretty quiet affair, and it was shared with the Hogwarts staff that had been present during the summer break (Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Pomfrey, Hagrid and some others whose names I didn't know). We ended up being the talk of the table, given that we were the only new ones there. Rukia was pretty chatty and told the professors a condensed version of her backstory which we had prepared beforehand; she was the sister-in-law of a wealthy businessman named Byakuya Kuchiki. I didn't talk much and simply sipped my wine as I listened to Rukia's story, occasionally adding to the story or correcting her where she strayed from the pre-established backstory. After lunch, I walked them back to their dorms, which were inside the Gryffindor Tower area of the castle.

"So what's this sorting thing all about?"

Hinamori replied, with the air of one about to tell an epic story, "It all started close to 1100 years ago – "

"1000 years, Hinamori-san," cut in Rukia.

"Yes, 1000 years – that's when four of the greatest wizards got together and said, "Let's build a great school for young wizards and witches!" and they waved their wands and –poof! – Hogwarts came into being!"

"Their names were Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. The four houses in Hogwarts are named after them. At first, they wanted to teach all young wizards and all went well…"

Hinamori clutched her heart and said dramatically, "But alas! It was not to be! Slytherin had a falling out. He wanted only to teach pure-blooded students – "

" – but the others refused; especially Gryffindor, who did not like to create distinctions based on one's blood status…"

" "_Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those whose ancestry's purest." Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose intelligence is surest." Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those with brave deeds to their name." Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot and treat them just the same." _" Hinamoripractically sang.

Geez, what a hopeless romantic. Although I did not say that out aloud. Anything related to the word 'naïve' was to be avoided around Hinamori, for it would cause her to remember Aizen once again. She was supposedly 'over him', whatever that meant, but still, no need to bring up the bad memories. She continued, "So Gryffindor took off his own hat and everyone cast spells on it to make it intelligent. Every student who comes to Hogwarts puts the hat on his or her head and the hat looks into their minds."

"Wait – a hat looked into your minds?"

"Well, yes. He decided that we belonged to Gryffindor."

"What'd you mean 'decided'? How does a freaking _hat_ decide what house you belong to?" I asked, throwing my arms about wildly as I asked the question.

"It can talk! He looked into my mind and said that I had many qualities, like tolerance, fair play, a thirst for intelligence, but not for intelligence's own sake, and most of all, courage. So, he placed me in Gryffindor."

Rukia added on to what Hinamori had said, "He took a long time to decide for me. He kinda spoke to me at length, assessing my qualities. He instantly ruled out Slytherin and Ravenclaw…"

I stifled a chuckle at this. Was she not intelligent enough for Ravenclaw?

"What? I can understand about Slytherin since our parents are not wizards, so we're not pure blood. But why not Ravenclaw?"

"Same reason as Hinamori-san. I have intelligence and a thirst for it, but not for its own sake. The hat didn't know whether to place me in Hufflepuff or in Gryffindor because…"

I looked at her and said, "That's enough. I understand." She looked somewhat surprised at my words, but nodded and quietened down. It was not an easy situation to understand, but I knew her long enough to roughly get what was going on.

Rukia was the type to make mistakes every now and then, and she would end up blaming herself for it. It wasn't really her fault – after all, she was faced with a difficult choice when she confronted the Hollow-possessed Shiba Kaien all those years ago, and once again when she had to choose whether or not to transfer her powers to me about two years ago when I first became a Shinigami. Both were tough decisions, but she was forced to make them nonetheless. So, what were the qualities and virtues born out of these trials of fire? Strength? Courage? Bravery and a bold heart? Perhaps – I would be more likely to agree, however, if she didn't regret those decisions. I bet even today, she thinks that she shouldn't have pushed that sword into my heart 2 years ago, because in doing so, she prevented me from having a normal life. Nothing I do or say can fully convince her that becoming a Shinigami was a good thing for me because I was no longer a cog in the wheel; because I now had the strength to defy fate and protect those dear to me.

What about compassion and consideration for others? Those were qualities favoured by Hufflepuff, according to what Hinamori had just said, and Rukia had those in spades. She may act cold hearted towards me, Renji and just about everyone except her captain, her brother, or anyone else higher-ranked than herself, but she always looks out for us. She defied orders to go after Inoue when she was trapped in Hueco Mundo, and when we broke into Soul Society to prevent her execution, she was most concerned about our safety. There was little she could do, ultimately, to prevent us from getting injured in fights, or to save us from sadness, but that was through no fault of her own, and definitely not for lack of trying either. And she was always there to help us deal with the aftermath too. I chuckled bleakly. No wonder the…_hat_ had difficulty sorting her out. She sighed. Looks like whatever she discussed with the hat was still weighing heavily on her mind.

"Don't think too much about what some silly hat said, Rukia. We've got more important things on our mind. Now that we've got into Hogwarts, we've got to make sure to do our job and excel at it. Both of you, if you find something important, tell me immediately, even if it seems minor."

"Got it!"

I looked at Hinamori and opened my mouth to say something, then hesitated. Is now a good time to bring up the subject of Aizen? Perhaps not. I turned away and ignored her confused look. I remembered something that had happened the previous night – Toshiro had met me in the conference room because he wanted to tell me something in private.

"Kurosaki," he had said, "I'm…leaving Hinamori in your hands. I don't know if you know this already, but she and I…used to live together in the Rukongai before we became Shinigami. She was like a sister to me. She suffered greatly during the war, and I – "

I placed my hand over his and said, "I understand. I saw what happened at the battle in Fake Karakura Town. That girl has certainly changed in the 17 months since I last saw her, but who knows what may happen after a while."

"So you'll protect her?"

"She'll be my lieutenant after all this is over. I can't keep protecting her all the time; as a captain, I can't do everything on my own like I used to. I have to delegate some tasks to division members. But I have a duty to look after her all the same. And hopefully when we're done, she'll have the strength, and the willpower to face whatever's ahead, even if she's on her own."

Toshiro breathed in deeply and said, "Thanks. I didn't expect to hear that from you…but I'm glad you understand."

And that was why I couldn't go about discussing such things with her – at least, not while we were at this stage. We weren't even addressing each other by our first names yet. It was far too early.

September 1st, Hogwarts

Harry Potter's POV

What a great year this is turning out to be, even before it's properly begun. First, I find out that Sirius Black, some madman who escaped from prison, is after me and wants to kill me because I caused Voldemort's death. I can't go to Hogsmeade along with Ron and Hermione because I don't have the signed consent form. And then, I have an encounter with a freaking _dementor_ on the Hogwarts Express and I pass out because of it. Everyone was affected, sure, but I passed out when nobody else did.

_I'm so weak._

Draco bloody Malfoy is never going to let me hear the end of it. Why did Neville have to blab about my reaction to everyone who bothered to listen? Well, whatever. Perhaps I was just feeling short-tempered because I was hungry. In a few moments, we would climb out of these horseless stagecoaches that we ride to Hogwarts and I'll be well-fed at the Start-of-term feast. Hopefully this year would be a good one. Hopefully Professor Lupin, whom we met on the train earlier, would be a good Defence teacher, much better than the incompetent fraud we had last year. Hopefully they'll catch Sirius Black soon and the dementors will leave. _Hopefully_.

When we reach Hogwarts and file in, I can hardly wait to enter the great hall and see all the familiar faces; the professors, my pals from Gryffindor whom I didn't meet on the train, the magical decorations…of course, there were some faces I'd rather not see, like Snape and the caretaker Argus Filch, but that's just something I have to live with. But wait! Before I enter, someone stops me.

"Potter! Granger! I want to see you both!" It was McGonagall, who was hurrying over to us, after leading the First Year students to the Great Hall, no doubt.

"You may leave, Weasley. I just need a word with Potter and Granger. No – you're not in trouble."

Ron hesitantly walked off towards the Hall, while Hermione and I followed McGonagall to her office. I shot my best female friend a sidelong glance, but she shook her head. She didn't know what this was all about, either. We soon reached her office, something I was glad for, because there was a warm fire inside.

"Professor Lupin sent word by an owl earlier that you were taken sick on the train, Potter."

There were two knocks on the door, and in stepped an unfamiliar man, who looked Asian. His hair was bright orange, which contrasted sharply with his tanned skin. His eyes were brown and he was wearing slim blue jeans with sports shoes and a tight black T-shirt, along with a lab coat. He looked at me and Hermione, as if sizing us up, and then, as if he had just made a decision, walked over to me.

"It's you, isn't it? The one taken ill?"

"Err, well…"

"Yes, Mr. Kurosaki. It's him. He was exposed to a dementor," said McGonagall sharply. Looks like she wasn't going to let me off easily. Hermione looked at him in surprise and asked, "Who are you? I've never seen you around here…"

The orange-headed man took out a small torchlight and started examining my eyes, shining the torch into them, and as he did so, he said casually, "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. I work for Madam Pomfrey. Have you had any medicine for this…Harry?"

"No…yes…well, it's not really medicine, but I had some chocolate and I felt better. Professor Lupin gave it to us." He knew my name. Why am I not surprised?

"Very good – that's exactly what's needed for people who get too close to dementors. Well, have some more. It helps," he said casually, giving me a bar of 80% cocoa chocolate while checking my pulse with his free hand. I put the chocolate aside.

"I'm fine!" He stopped looking disinterested when he heard my sudden outburst and looked me in the eyes.

Ichigo's Point of View

He was exactly like James, in terms of appearance and personality. The messy hair, the glasses, the shape of his face, everything. And he also refused to be coddled by anyone. I sighed internally and cast my mind back to a few nights before – August 26th, the day before Hagrid came to take us to Hogwarts.

That night, James and Lily themselves approached me. This was right after Toshiro had talked to me. I sighed wearily and asked, "This is about your son, isn't it?"

"Umm, yes," James said awkwardly. He took a deep breath and said, "I know he's unrelated to your mission, and I don't want to trouble you…but still, could you look after him while he's there? As a medic, it should be possible for you to…"

"I get it – just keep him safe, and tell you if anything happens, right?" I smiled.

Lily embraced me and said, "Thank you so much. This means a lot to us…especially with what's been going on lately."

And once again, the fate of the world was on my shoulders. Well…the fate of two people anyway. I rolled my eyes at Harry's outburst and reached into the First Aid box I had brought with me and drew a hypodermic syringe.

"Well, if you don't want the chocolate, I could just give you a shot of Prozac™."

The effect of the veiled threat was instantaneous. The girl paled and recoiled back into her seat, trying to get as far from the needle as possible without appearing improper. Harry grabbed for the chocolate and hurriedly bit off a little. I chuckled and put the syringe back. The best part of it was that the syringe was empty. I had no Prozac™ on me.

"Well, he looks good to go, Professor." I said to McGonagall, "But he should take care not to run into any more dementors."

"Very well. Thank you, Mr. Kurosaki."

Harry's Point of view

Just like that, the Asian man in the lab coat left. McGonagall sent me out as well, because she needed to speak to Hermione privately about something. I expected to find the outside corridor empty; I gave a start when I realised that the medic was there as well. He was holding something in his hand, which he held high above his head. Looking closely, it was a black smartphone. Dudley had gotten one of those recently, but I had gotten no chance to look closely at it.

"Umm, excuse me? What are you doing?" The man glanced at me and said, "I've been trying to get a signal, so I can call a friend of mine. Still can't get any."

I gave him a weird look, "Nobody uses phones here. Everyone uses owls to send letters to their family or friends."

This time, he gave me a weird look, "Owls? I'd rather not!" He put the phone back into his pocket and faced me properly, for he had been facing another way up till now.

"What house are you from?"

"Gryffindor. Why?"

"Well, that's good. Did you know you'll be getting two new students this year, in your house?"

Was he an idiot? Or did he think _I_ was an idiot?

"I'm sure there are a lot more first years joining us than just _two_." I said coolly

He smacked his forehead and said apologetically, "No no, I meant they're joining second year. They've already completed first year at another school, but they want to continue their education in Hogwarts, so they'll be going straight to Second Year. They're friends of mine, from Japan."

"Oh…that's what you meant. That's new. I've never heard of people joining at any year besides First year. Japan, huh? Is that where you're from…Kuro-saki, is it?"

"Yeah. I needed some work experience so I joined Hogwarts as a healer in the hospital wing. By the way, earlier…that was a joke. I wasn't actually going to poke you with a needle."

I glared at him, "Why, you…" and he laughed at my expression.

"Just don't get too near dementors again. I don't want to see you at the Hospital Wing for any more injuries and stuff." I shook my head, not knowing whether to laugh or glare at him. At that point, McGonagall and Hermione came out. She looked chuffed to bits about something. When I asked, she airily evaded the question. The four of us made our way briskly to the Great Hall, where the sorting ceremony had already ended. Kurosaki and McGonagall made their way to the staff table, with a nod and a small wave to us. We joined the Gryffindor table, and Hermione pointed out something.

"Look! We've got two First Years from Asia! Looks like we've got some interesting people this year!"

She was gesturing at two girls, one with striking violet eyes and a cute black bob, and the other with dark brown hair tied in a bun covered with a cloth. They both were in animated conversation with the girls around them.

"Actually, Hermione, they're second year students." She looked at me in disbelief. Feeling slightly smug that I knew something she didn't, I explained, "Kurosaki told me about them; they finished first year elsewhere, so they're joining second year here. They're both Japanese."

"Oh – well, that's…interesting nonetheless! I wonder what they might have learned in Japan…we should make friends later!"

I snorted as we made our way to Ron, who had saved us seats next to him. She hadn't lost that thirst for intelligence, that girl. Forget what I said about the year earlier…it looked as if this year might actually turn out to be a good one.

_To be continued_

Writing for Hagrid is difficult – ironically, it's harder to deliberately spell wrongly than it is to have perfect spelling throughout.

1. In Singapore, my school had a lecture on interview skills for the final year students. It's a pretty good guess that the same happens to final year students in Japan too – and in most other countries for that matter.

2. Wand woods have been chosen the standard way: Celtic calendar. I wrote a Harry Potter-Bleach crossover last year, and it has since been discontinued; I just revisited that story and copied the woods and cores from what I wrote last year. The cores were chosen based somewhat on personality or Zanpakuto. Hinamori's Zanpakuto uses kido to produce effects largely based on fire, so she gets the Phoenix core. Rukia's Zanpakuto is the most beautiful in Soul Society, so she gets the Unicorn core. Ichigo is deadly powerful and has a Hollow inside of him. Of all the reapers, he is one of the few who truly deserves the title of _Shinigami_ (God of Death). Hence, he gets the Thestral hair core, since the Thestral is so closely linked with death.

3. The 'fact', or rule, that electricity doesn't work in Hogwarts never made sense to me. After all, electricity is a natural process and without it, the human body's nervous system would not function. In fact, the heart itself would not beat without electric impulses sent from the brain. In _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_, Hermione gives this rule as the reason why Rita Skeeter could not have used recording devices to spy on others, but it was never really established that recording devices _don't_ work inside Hogwarts – because in the end, Rita was an animagus and never needed to use such instruments. So I decided to adapt the rule slightly. Here's my version: Electrical devices can work inside Hogwarts, but magic interferes with radio waves, so mobile phones will not receive a signal. By right, radio should not work either, but J.K. Rowling has stated that wizards make magical radios that can work inside Hogwarts. Fair enough, I say.

4. Bunny Shooter is a game that can be found on the Apple™ App store and in the Android™ Market. I think it's fairly obvious why this app causes Ichigo to think twice about letting Rukia touch his phone.

About the Prozac™, I'm just guessing. It's an antidepressant, but we'll probably never know if it works on dementor victims. It may not even be administered normally via hypodermic syringe. The TV show I'm watching right now is _House, M.D._, hence the medical references. It's not a major theme, though. There probably won't be any such references in upcoming chapters.

I do not own any of the brands mentioned in this story, and I'm not advertising them or anything, either.


	6. Contagion of Madness

The Next Great Adventure

_And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb_ – From the book of Isaiah, in the Bible

Chapter 6: Contagion of Madness

Hermione Granger writes…

It was a year of highs and lows in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where I currently study magic, as a third-year student. Things have been so busy that I have not had time to write anything in my journal since the start of term. Where to start? There was the incident of Harry passing out on the train thanks to dementors, something that probably weighed heavily on his mind even after this time. The Slytherins, led by Malfoy, aren't helping either, with their constant teasing. What do they know anyway? They didn't have to deal with a dementor almost sucking out their souls! If Professor Lupin hadn't been around, we all surely would be dead or soulless. I'm not sure which is worse.

The first lessons of Transfiguration, Herbology and Charms were reasonably fine. The syllabus was difficult, but our professors took things slowly and taught us what we needed to know at a reasonable pace. The only ones who followed a faster pace were Hagrid and Lupin. One ended very well, and the other ended very horribly. Lupin's first lesson involved fighting a Boggart – a shape shifter that assumes the form of what frightens you the most. The way to get rid of it is by laughter, specifically, by turning the Boggart into something amusing via the spell '_Riddikulus_'. The last time we had a practical defence lesson, it went badly – with Professor Lockhart and his pixies all over the place. But Lupin was very capable and we were able to subdue the Boggart within seconds of learning the spell.

As for Hagrid, he too gave us something difficult and flashy for the first lesson, but it would have gone very well, if not for Malfoy. Despite having been warned beforehand that Hippogriffs are 'proud creatures' and that insulting them might be the last thing he did. He ignored it and left with a horrifying injury that left his arm in a cast for several days. Serves him right. After all, you reap what you sow. But now I am extremely worried about the consequences. The first thing Malfoy must have done is to write in to his father and get him to do something about the situation. Hagrid's job may be at risk. Perhaps he even might even get thrown into prison.

The Malfoy family may have had links to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in the past, but their claims that they had been under the influence of dark magic (helped along with their power and money, no doubt) were accepted all-too-eagerly by the Ministry of Magic and all charges against them were dropped. Last year, Lucius Malfoy was able to get even Dumbledore thrown out of Hogwarts with his influence; there's no telling what he could do to Hagrid. I hope Dumbledore steps in on his behalf; that way, he at least stands a chance.

As for Potions, everything went fine with my own work, but the boys did not fare so well. Worst off was poor Neville, who had to endure Professor Snape's constant bullying. Ever since the year started, Snape has been in a much fouler mood than ever, and Harry and I both noticed him staring at Professor Lupin with what can only be described as pure hatred in his eyes. Professor Lupin did not stare back or even react. The one time I saw him talk to Snape, he was polite and civil. Then again, so was Snape himself. Only his tone of voice and body language was off, though…Do those two know each other? Probably, but I digress.

Snape was in a terrible mood and harsher than usual on Neville. He even force fed his Shrinking Solution to his toad, Trevor (If Neville had brewed it correctly, Trevor would become a tadpole; if not, Trevor would have been poisoned). Luckily, I had helped him out and Trevor survived the encounter. It didn't end there. In October, Professor Lupin fell ill. Harry told me he had seen Snape go to Lupin's office to give him s strange smoking potion, and that had aroused our suspicions. I dismissed the boys' idea that Snape was poisoning Lupin, but he suddenly fell ill the next Defence lesson, with Snape taking over for him. Snape was in an abusive mood and I can't bear talking about it. All I'll say for now is that Ron got detention for standing up to Snape on my behalf. We spent the lesson discussing werewolves, although we were certainly not at that level yet. But Snape seemed to disagree, asserting that all the things we had covered in previous lessons were far below our level. I couldn't help but notice that it was the full moon that night.

The only other thing worth talking about is Divination. It was dreadful and my biggest mistake so far this year was to apply to take it as one of my subjects. Professor Trelawney's art was a very obscure one and according to her, I don't have the skill for it. Normally when someone says that to me, it motivates me to work harder to prove him or her wrong. But not this time. I have little desire to keep up the guessing game known as Divination, to look into my cup of tea and foretell the future by identifying shapes made by the tea leaves. And in the end, nobody is completely sure what's going to happen in the future anyway. I may have a propensity to worry too much, especially when my reckless-to-the-point-of-idiocy friends are concerned, but a part of me has always considered the future a challenge worth its risks, a challenge that is meant to be accepted even without knowing enough details. After all, that's life.

Hermione Granger's Point of View

I closed my journal and put away my quill. The time now was 12.55 pm – 5 more minutes to Muggle Studies. Ron was surprised at me for taking the subject, seeing as I was raised as a muggle for the first 11 years of my life. But my earlier answer to him stands – it is fascinating to study muggles from the point of view of wizards. Most wizards know so little about muggles that they can't distinguish a car from a washing machine, but the Muggle Studies teacher, Professor Charity Burbage, is very knowledgeable about them, and learning from her is a joy. I picked up my bag and walked off to the classroom. The class was a pretty small one, consisting mostly of Ravenclaws, plus a few Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. There were no Slytherins – no surprises there. Although I figure most of them avoid this class less because they hate Muggles than because they don't want to be ostracised by the other Slytherins for taking Muggle Studies.

Pushing these thoughts out of my mind, I step into this classroom, ready to learn. But something's out of place – Professor Charity Burbage is not in the classroom. In her place at the teacher's table, there's an Asian man with bright orange hair and tanned skin. I remember he was the man who had given Harry a short check-up after the incident on the Hogwarts Express – by threatening him with a hypodermic syringe! Slightly wary of him, I stopped dead in my tracks and asked in what I hoped was not too shaky a voice, "What are you doing here? Where's Professor Burbage?"

He impatiently waved at an empty spot at one of the tables, where Ernie Macmillan was seated. I hesitantly walked over to the table and took a seat next to the Hufflepuff. The Asian man stood up. He was wearing pretty much the same type of clothes from the last time I had seen him: dark blue jeans, a tight black polo T-shirt. His lab coat was draped over his chair. He was noticeably muscular, yet lean. Putting his hands in his pockets, he said, "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, and I recently started work at the Hospital Wing. Burbage has fallen ill and has taken today off. Dumbledore asked me to take over this lesson and teach you some…stuff"

Everyone raised their eyebrows, especially the Ravenclaws. He sighed, "Dumbledore wanted me to teach you some First Aid; he said it was an 'excellent skill' to learn."

Ernie raised his hand and said, "I don't see how this has anything to do with Muggle Studies…Mr Kur-Kuro…sir. After all, healing is not exclusive to Muggles,"

Mr. Kurosaki rolled his eyes at his inability to pronounce his name and said, "Well…Muggles can't use magic, so they have to resort to different methods. Besides, I've seen the statistics and most underage wizards have no clue what to do when someone suddenly collapses in front of them, or when an accident happens. They know how to use magic, but they are unable to cast spells outside school. Comparatively, a higher proportion of muggles actually have this knowledge, and they are able to take appropriate action efficiently without the use of magic. Think of this lesson as a study into the methods used by Muggles to treat injuries and minor conditions. That's why Dumbledore decided that it should be covered under Muggle Studies." He shrugged as he said this.

"Now, we obviously don't have time to go through the entire syllabus, so I'm just going to cover some things that might be more relevant."

He took out a whiteboard marker – just for Muggle Studies, we used a whiteboard and markers rather than the blackboard and chalk found in all the other classrooms – and started writing some words in surprisingly beautiful handwriting.

Broken Bones

Nosebleeds

Cuts and Bruises

Dementors

When done, he placed the marker on the desk and said, "I know the last one doesn't have anything to do with muggle first aid, but I'm going to teach you anyway how to deal with people affected by dementors."

We all sat up straight, and he smiled slightly, as if pleased by the effect those words had. He started off with broken bones – teaching us how to use a splint and to stop bleeding first if it was an open fracture (where the overlying skin was also damaged by whatever trauma had caused the fracture in the first place). Cuts and bruises was standard stuff, especially for me, since I had grown up in a muggle household and was used to treating my own cuts and bruises. Just clean the area, apply pressure with a cloth to stop bleeding, etc. But it must have been fascinating to the pure-bloods or the half-bloods in the class, as their parents would have just used magic to close cuts and numb pain. I had an urge to tune out as he continued speaking. It wasn't that he was uninteresting as a teacher, it was just that I wanted to know about dementors, not about mundane cuts or nosebleeds. Harry had a dementor problem and I was determined to help him overcome it. It was the least I could do as a friend. At long last, the words I wanted to hear came.

"And finally, we move on to Dementors. Dementors feed off happy memories and emotions. That's why people feel so depressed around them. Now, I can't teach you how to repel dementors…"

I sighed upon hearing those words. Maybe what he was teaching us was not _that_ useful after all.

"…But I can teach you what to do for someone who has just had a run-in with them. Chocolate. That's the first thing you should give them."

There were some raised hands and questions.

"Why chocolate?"

"What if we don't have any chocolate?"

"Would white chocolate work?"

Kurosaki snapped, "Calm down! One question at a time! Now then, chocolate works because it's full of anti-de…chemicals that cheer you up, basically. If you don't have chocolate, give the patient a banana. They contain similar chemicals and will have pretty much the same effect. As for white chocolate…I don't recommend it. Dark chocolate is better. Best of all, just stay the hell away from them. There's no point in unnecessarily taking risks," He appeared somewhat shifty as he said that last sentence.

There weren't many questions after that, and we left as the bell rang.

Tower of London, 7.30 p.m. that same day

Third Person Narrator's Point of View

Abarai Renji cautiously held out his sword, while standing before an old wooden door. His Ninth Seated Officer, Shirogane Mihane, glanced at him and he nodded, signalling that he was prepared. She nodded back and pointed a finger at the door.

"_Hado #1: Sho!_"

The spell knocked down the door with a short burst of force, and Renji hurried inside with light footsteps. He cast his eyes around the room, ready to take down any enemies that might be hiding in the shadows. As he realised that there was nobody in the room except for himself and Mihane, the wild look in his eyes died down along with the preparedness to fight, and he lowered Zabimaru in disappointment.

"Dead end. The trail of reiatsu led here, and just vanished. We were that close," murmured Mihane, shaking her head. Her lieutenant sheathed his weapon and walked around the room, checking on anything that might be suspicious.

"There's nothing much here. We can tell from the trail of reiatsu that someone, perhaps Aizen, came this way, to this secret passageway, but what we're seeing before our eyes contradicts that."

Mihane said sharply, "What about magic? We know Aizen may have had links to wizards. If any of them were here, they would leave traces."

Renji concurred, "True. But we wouldn't know anything about lingering traces of magic here; at least, not until James comes here."

Having said that, Renji flared his reiatsu slightly, and after a few minutes, Lily Potter stepped into the room, her long black coat billowing out behind her.

Mihane smiled at her ruefully and said, "No reiatsu here, Lily. But there may be magic…"

"Let's check, shall we?" suggested Lily. She reached into her pocket and drew something out. It was a small handheld device similar to a pocket radio, and it was connected by a grey wire to a metal tube.

"What's that?" asked Renji curiously, "It looks like a phone."

"This here is a magic sensor developed by the Agency," explained Lily, indicating the tube, "And it's connected to a datalogger, which records the sensor's readings. It's a bit like a Geiger-Müller Tube," upon seeing her peers' confused faces, she hurriedly explained, "A radiation detector. Magic is all around us, so the sensor will always detect some magic in the surroundings. Think of it as background radiation, if you like. But when spells are performed, the magic level spikes. That's what I'm looking for – the spikes in magic levels. A-ha! Found it!"

She was pointing the tube at an odd place – the fireplace. She continued, "Someone has either used magic close to the fireplace, or on the fireplace itself. Probably a spell to create a fire – which indicates that people were here some time ago."

The room which Renji and Mihane were investigating was in a hidden underground section of the Tower of London. That particular section had been made secretly by wizards as a facility of sorts, and it had been abandoned a long time ago. The room itself seemed to be a sort of meeting room, with a few chairs and a table. The fireplace, at which Lily was pointing her sensor, had evidence of being used, but it was unclear how long ago the fire had been lit. Mihane put on rubber gloves and cautiously examined the fireplace, putting aside old pieces of partially-burnt firewood.

"Do people even use this place nowadays?"

Lily answered, "It's not exactly out of bounds, and a wizard can find its entrance if he looks in the right place. Anyone can go inside and stay here. But the Ministry of Magic does conduct periodic checks, to ensure that it is safe. If it isn't safe to stay inside, they'll prevent people from entering. But it's generally not used. It's not too much of a stretch to suggest that we're the first visitors in decades."

Mihane took off her gloves and placed her hand inside.

"It's cool. I don't think a fire has been lit recently. What's so interesting about the fireplace, though?"

Lily tapped her chin, deep in thought. As the two Japanese shinigami raised their eyebrows, waiting for an answer, she suddenly snapped her fingers and said, "That's it! Floo network!"

"'flu' network?"

Lily beamed at the two and said, "It shouldn't have taken this long to guess what's going on. It just goes to show how disconnected I am from the wizarding world."

She explained, "Floo network. Wizards have multiple modes of transport – and the Floo Network is one of them. This is how it works: You light a fire in the fireplace and toss some Floo Powder into it. This makes the flames harmless. You then step into the fireplace and state your desired destination. Magic will handle the rest, transporting you to the fireplace of your destination."

"Travelling from fireplace to fireplace? Cool. Whoever was here might have guessed we were coming and made a run for it through this…Floo network," Mused Renji.

Lily bent down and moved some of the chunks of firewood away, to reveal a little silvery powder amidst the wood.

"See that? That's Floo powder. Someone _did_ travel through this fireplace. We have no idea what's his or her destination, though. We don't even know if it was just one person, or if there were multiple persons involved."

At that point, Mihane had started exploring the rest of the room.

"Guys, take a look at this."

She was peering at some ash on the ground. It was present in small amounts, little heaps of it unevenly spaced out. All in all, they made a straight line on the ground. The table had some on it as well. Lily looked at it and placed some of it in a plastic bag, which she then sealed.

"It looks like cigarette ash – I've seen the stuff around wherever Iba-san* goes. The table has some burn marks on it too. He must have been smoking, and deposited his ash on the table," surmised Renji.

"The person might have smoked seated at the table, and then started pacing back and forth. That explains the ash scattered in a line on the floor _and_ on the table." Guessed Lily, "I'll have the cigarette smoke analysed. That'll tell us what brand of cigarettes our mystery person was smoking – it's not much to go on, but it will provide a clue. If Aizen's spiritual signature was definitely detected here, it's likely that it was him. Does he smoke?"

"I never actually saw him after he left Soul Society, but up till then, I've never seen him smoke, and his teeth were always perfectly arranged and white – He didn't have the yellow teeth or the unhealthy gums of a smoker," Said Renji.

Mihane suggested, "He could have picked it up after he left,"

"I don't think so. He always seemed too…clean for it. Smoking is one thing I can never see him doing."

Lily pondered, "Well, then let's assume it wasn't him who lit up in here. What can we deduce from there?"

"It could either be an associate of his, who was here with him…or some unrelated person who happened to pass by," Mihane conjectured.

"Either way, we have to find that person. If he's an associate, his information will be a great help to us. If he's not, he could still serve as a witness here."

The three came to this agreement and left the Tower of London.

15 King's Road

Renji, Mihane and Lily soon got back home after their trip to the Tower, and were greeted by the aroma of Hisagi Shuhei's cooking.

"Something smells good! What're you making, _Senpai_?"

"Come and see!" smirked Shuhei to his junior.

Toshiro snapped, "Dinner can wait; what did you guys find?"

Mihane answered briskly, "Aizen's reiatsu was found in a room in an underground section of the Tower of London. We didn't find him," Toshiro cursed when she said this, and she continued, "but we know someone was in that room. There was a smoker in that room, indicated by cigarette ash we found on the floor, along with Aizen, and one, or both, of them left the room via the Floo Network. That's a magical mode of transportation, where a person is carried by magic from one fireplace to another."

Toshiro asked incredulously, "You're saying they got into a fireplace and…travelled through it to some destination?"

"That's right, sir."

The short captain looked at James, who nodded in confirmation.

"Well, I never…travelling through fireplaces, of all things!"

Shuhei interjected, "Well, if it's got to do with magic, then it's safe to say Aizen is involved with Wizards. He must have formed links with wizards and learned from them, at the very least. He might even have a few accomplices who can use magic."

Renji nodded, "Yeah, that's what we thought, given the ash. Aizen doesn't smoke, so it must be his partner…or someone unrelated."

James took the clear plastic bag with the ash sample from Lily and said, "I'll have this analysed. Then we'll know which type of tobacco products to look out for."

Toshiro nodded at the British Shinigami, and the group sat down to have their dinner.

Hogwarts, during a certain Transfiguration lesson

Professor McGonagall shook her head as she finished marking yet another essay from one of her second-year students. This current crop of second-years was nothing special, unlike their predecessors, who had excellent students like Hermione Granger, or brilliant sportsmen like Harry Potter. Perhaps there were some reasonably decent students like Luna Lovegood, but she was not from her house. Ginevra "Ginny" Weasley was not too bad either, and she was strong, considering her rebound after her near-death experience last year, but she was not as good as her seniors.

But there still was some hope, she reflected, as she took up the next script – the one written by Rukia Kuchiki. Hogwarts was a prestigious institute, and the two Japanese girls, Kuchiki and Hinamori, had suddenly requested permission to join Second Year after completing first year at some school. She had no idea what school it was. But, after reviewing their performance so far, she was pleased with their progress, and no longer cared about their previous school. The answers they gave were rather unorthodox, but they weren't wrong. In fact, she knew for a fact that Professor Flitwick encouraged such answers because they were imaginative and provided new insights on the topic at hand. Even Professor Snape grudgingly admitted to the other teachers that their potions talent was above-average for their level and that they had a drive for excellence.

She also happened to know that they were getting on well with their new schoolmates. They never went anywhere without at least one of their friends around them; usually Ginny Weasley. They were also good friends with Hermione Granger, who was usually seen with them in the library, where they researched quite frequently. That was how they knew things most people their age wouldn't – they actually took the time to read and learn from their seniors.

The young man who had also joined them as a staff member – Ichigo Kurosaki – really did turn out to be a friend of theirs, and he seemed rather smart as well, if a little aloof and sarcastic. Hermione had told her about the lesson which he had taught during Muggle Studies, and she was impressed that a man his age could handle a group of students at such short notice. Even if muggle first aid was not all that useful for wizards and witches, he had at least taught them something useful, regarding dementors. She sighed. How much longer were they going to have to put up with those foul creatures?

Another thing that worried her was Professor Lupin. She had known for such a long time that the boy was, unfortunately, a werewolf. It was not that she did not trust him. Quite the contrary, she had as much trust in him as Albus Dumbledore himself, and she also expected that Snape would keep in line, despite his personal hatred of Lupin. What was truly worrying was that Lupin's secret might be found out by someone. Who knows what might happen to the man if he was found out? Who knows what might happen to Dumbledore, who trusted him? McGonagall sighed. The man was in need of a job, and he was very good at teaching defence, too. To reject him simply based on his…_condition_ was just too cruel. It was completely unbecoming of a Gryffindor, like herself.

Some time later, the night of the full moon

Ichigo's Point of View

I paced my dorm room again for what must have been the 100th time that evening. Something was seriously wrong in this damned castle. I had talked to Rukia and Hinamori about it earlier. They had shown concern, but they didn't believe me. Our conversation earlier – spoken/shouted entirely in Japanese – had gone something like this

"_I'm telling you, there's something terribly wrong here! I can feel it! I feel the need to go and investigate," I snapped._

"_We can't feel anything, Ichigo! And, no offence, but detecting reiatsu signatures has never been your strong suit!" Rukia argued._

"_No, it's not a reiatsu signature. This isn't the unique _pressure_ emitted by a soul. This is different…I can't express it in words, but it's not reiatsu. It's like reiatsu, but not like it. Let's call it _ki_**, shall we?"_

"_Ki? Kurosaki-san…I think you've been reading too much martial arts manga." deadpanned Hinamori. I glared at her. She may be nice most of the time, but it seemed she had picked up a talent for sarcasm after the war ended._

"_What I felt was real, ok? You know how some powerful fighters are able to display killing intent? That's what I meant by ki. It's not the same as reiatsu. I can sense some powerful ki in this castle."_

"_But we can't sense anything! Ichigo, you can't go jumping at shadows! It's unbecoming of a captain!"_

"_My instincts have been sharpened by the war. I'm not lying or overreacting!"_

_Hinamori rubbed the bridge of her nose and said, "Ok, look. You have time. Why don't you go and find out more about this? We have homework to do."_

_Rukia agreed, "I think that's best. Let this be a test of your own skills as well. If you do find something of interest, I'll admit you're right. If not, I'll have you leave the reiatsu sensing to us in the future."_

"_Fine!" I stormed off._

The terrible feeling that something ominous was about to happen still remained; if anything, it was stronger than ever. That argument had taken place in the afternoon, and it was now about 9 p.m. I sighed and collected my thoughts. The feeling was deeply rooted in my subconscious – my instinct. Even I had a hard time believing it because it contrasted with my conscious mind, but my instinct has always been sharp, just like I told Rukia earlier. This is what I decided: I'll just let my subconscious lead me. Even if my mind and senses tell me I'm wrong, I'll keep going. Maybe something good will come of this. Maybe. I put on my coat and start walking. As if on autopilot, I keep going – into the atrium with the multiple floors and shifting staircases. I get on one of them just as it starts moving away. I keep going down and get off at the second floor. I continue walking, and move past a dark corridor, after which comes a girls' lavatory. As I pass by, out floats one of the ghosts (Did I mention there are actual ghosts in this castle? Rukia had never wanted to perform a Soul Burial so badly in her life…err, death, but she was told not to do so by James and Lily). This is one ghost I have never seen before – it's a girl dressed in Hogwarts robes, wearing large round glasses and with her hair in two pigtails. The sight of this unusual, cute-in-a-nerdy-way ghost gave me pause, but I had more important things to take care of. She floated in front of me.

"What, are you just going to leave without even saying hi?" She looked offended at my lack of response to her, but then she shut up quickly and left. I was glaring at her fiercely and emitting my own violent _ki_, for want of a better word, and that had scared her off. I had no idea I was even doing that. Maybe submitting to my possibly-violent subconscious was not such a good idea? I dismiss the thought and continue. It was just a ghost. Not like I could kill someone who was already dead.

I finally came to a simple wooden door. I recognised this as a teacher's office – Professor Remus Lupin's, from the sign on the door. I had talked to him a few times before – he seemed a friendly and capable man, rather like Ukitake-san in some ways. I tune out my subconscious, having found out what I was looking for and gently knock on the door, then twist the doorknob. It was locked from the inside. Fair enough, Lupin needs his sleep, but this is urgent. I made up an excuse on the spot for wanting to visit him at this time. Still no reply. But there was a weird noise – something like a whine or a howl.

Concerned, I stepped back, prepared to smash down the door, but then I thought better or it. I drew my wand.

"_Alohamora!_"

The unlocking spell worked and the door slowly swung open. In front of me, there was an odd sight – a _wolf_ on the floor, its tail shifting from side to side. It was looking at me with an expression that resembled bemusement – if wolves can even have such expressions. Then, I blacked out.

Remus Lupin's Point of View, the same moment

To my horror, the door opened, and in stepped Ichigo Kurosaki, of the Hospital Wing. I should have placed a stronger spell on it! Because of this silly mistake, the effort Dumbledore's spent to let me teach, along with Severus' hard work in preparing the Wolfsbane potion, was wasted. I shut my eyes. On the bright side, I had actually taken the potion. Now, even though I was transformed, I still kept my mind. If I hadn't taken it, I would right now be attacking the lad – a horrible prospect.

But even as I considered these thoughts, something strange happened. Ichigo showed little response to seeing me lying on the floor, in my wolf form. Then, something strange happened – _his eyes changed colour_. Where there was a white sclera and brown irises, he now had a black sclera and blue irises. He calmly closed the door, with his eyes still locked on mine. Something within me stirred. I padded over to him and looked up into his eyes. His eyes narrowed slightly and he said, "Come."

I was shocked. Why did this man have no reaction to seeing a werewolf in a teacher's room? Why did his eyes change colour, and why did his demeanour change along with it? _And why am I even following what he says?_ My body started moving of its own accord, and followed the young man. And then, I blacked out. I have no recollection of what happened after that.

Zangetsu's Point of View

Something really strange was happening. Ichigo suddenly lost control of his body. Now, I am a third party, unable to do anything as Ichigo's body moves, not of his own accord, but controlled by his instincts. When I first realised this was happening, starting from a few moments ago, I immediately looked to Ichigo's inner Hollow, suspecting his involvement. But he was strangely docile, lying on the side of my skyscraper.

"What's going on?"

He glanced at me, "Hmm? Dunno. Beats me, Zangetsu-san."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Ichigo had beaten a little respect into him a long time ago, but he was still a bit of a troublemaker.

"You're causing this, aren't you?" I asserted, materialising my blade into my hand and holding it up, ready to fight him so that Ichigo could regain control.

He got up and held out his two hands. Looks like he realised that this was one battle he couldn't win. He was prepared to talk, so I put the blade down.

"Whoa whoa…hold on Zangetsu. I meant what I said earlier. I really don't know what's going on and I'm not responsible for this…but I can make a guess."

I snapped testily, "Well, what's your guess, then?"

"Ichigo has a hollow within himself – me. But he also has Hollow reiatsu."

"Obviously – and _you_ are the cause of that."

"Yeah. But now, he's responding based on the Hollow reiatsu, rather than his conscious mind – or me. I'm guessing something on the outside, like a person or an event, set this whole thing off. Look at his body. Whenever I take over him, or when he uses my power, his irises turn yellow – but now they're blue – "

" – The same colour as his reiatsu, before you tainted it," I finished.

I turned the idea over in my head. _Hollow reiatsu_. Hollows live on their instincts – eat, grow stronger, flee from stronger enemies, or challenge them and eat them – Is Ichigo is following this set of rules now? What had set this off? What had caused him to, in a sense, possess himself, and operate on instincts, even though the Hollow himself was not involved? I pushed my thoughts aside and concentrated on what was happening. I decided to simply observe. If anything bad happened…I'll deal with it when it did happen.

At that moment, Ichigo was walking through the castle and the wolf was following him, like a faithful pet. He suddenly stopped and hid behind a pillar. Good timing, as the caretaker, Argus Filch, was stalking the hallways of Hogwarts, with a sharp eye out for miscreants wandering about after lights-out. When he was gone, Ichigo continued moving, with the wolf in tow. I couldn't tell where he was going. During the first day, Ichigo had looked at an indoors map of Hogwarts and I had memorised every detail of it, having had access to his memories. But Ichigo's footsteps did not lead to anywhere in particular.

Then, the Hollow spoke, "Hey, you feel that? Some strong killing intent is coming this way!" he ended off with an insane cackle. I regarded him condescendingly…then realised that he was right. I slapped my forehead. Ichigo was not headed towards a place, he was _headed for a person_ – the source of some strong ki – the very same ki he had felt earlier. And given that he now had a Hollow's instincts, fed by his Hollow reiatsu, my conjecture fit perfectly. When it feels strong killing intent or aura, a Hollow would judge if it can win a fight with the source of that aura. If it thinks it will lose, it will run to preserve its own life. If it believes it can win, _it_ _goes after it_.

Ichigo had just unconsciously recruited the wolf to be his partner, and they were going hunting for a strong enemy. My mind raced. It would be bad if a fight broke out inside this school. Knowing Ichigo's past record of causing great collateral damage when he fights, the students would be in danger. Plus, our cover would be blown. How could I prevent all that?

"Zangetsu! You dreaming?" The Hollow harshly alerts me to reality. While I was thinking, Ichigo has advanced towards the source of strong killing intent. He stops suddenly, and growls.

As I wait with bated breath, the enemy advances. I tense as I look upon the figure of the enemy – it's a massive black dog! Its eyes are wild, and its teeth are sharp and bared at Ichigo. The wolf advances slightly, also growling, but a reproachful glare from Ichigo is enough to send it back. The dog has a strange reaction to the wolf, it actually looks surprised, with its eyes wide and tongue hanging out – it's almost as it's not a dog, but a human. It moves forward, as if to take a closer look, but Ichigo steps in between. It's as if he's trying to say, "_I'm _your opponent!"

The dog growls, then barks once. It launches itself at Ichigo in that instant. Bad choice. Ichigo, hardened by months of training and war, is more than prepared, even if he's still in his human body now. He kicks it hard in a sweeping arc, sending it flying. But it's tenacious, and strikes back, intending to bite Ichigo's leg to take him down. This time, Ichigo swings to his side and drops to his knees. The dog is already in midair and is unable to swing. Ichigo reaches out, grabs its legs and sends it flying. It was getting noisy, and I had to do something about it. Something! Anything!

A crazy idea comes to mind. I turn to the Hollow and shout, "Possess him!"

"What?"

"Possess him, damn it! He's now ruled by his subconscious. If you possess him, we can at least get the hell out of here because you are somewhat capable of rational thought. If this goes on, he'll just keep fighting and everyone will find out!"

He smirked, "You sure, old man? What if I…I don't know, go berserk or something?"

"Don't you dare," I gritted my teeth. I meant it. I would beat him half to death if he tried something like that. He smirked again and reached out with his power, possessing Ichigo.

Sirius Black's Point of View, that moment

What the hell was going on? I'm walking about in Hogwarts, looking for that bastard Wormtail, when someone suddenly confronts me! It's a boy with bright orange hair, wearing a white coat…and walking with a wolf! There's something oddly familiar about the wolf. Could it possibly be…

I move in for a closer look, but the boy stops me. Is it just me, or are his eyes black? There's nothing for it. I have to fight, and do what I came to Hogwarts to do. I launch myself at him. But _he's strong!_ I am soundly beaten back. My second attempt also fails. The boy readies himself to attack again, but suddenly stops. He doubles over, as if in pain. He looks at me, and I give a start. His eyes – they're yellow! Previously, they were black, no doubt about that now, and blue. Now they're black and yellow. At the same time, a white substance starts appearing on his face, covering it completely. It's a mask! It has black stripes on the sides, as well as two horns facing forward. The wolf looks on him in shock, and just takes off running with its tail between its legs. I look at it incredulously as it leaves, then turn back to the boy. He is now standing at the nearby window. He takes one last look at me, and I recoil at the sight of those horrible yellow eyes.

He says something to me. It sounds like, "_Warui koto shita na_,"

What the hell does that mean? He opens the window and jumps out. Is he suicidal? This may be the second floor, but it's still a long drop! Before I can assume my human form to investigate, I hear footsteps. It was a pretty noisy fight; it was bound to attract attention. I disregard the suicidal boy and run for it. Foiled again! Looks like I'll have to come by another time to kill Wormtail. At least next time, the boy won't be there to stop me.

_To be continued_

*Iba Tetsuzaemon, the Seventh Division lieutenant, is sometimes shown smoking a cigarette. Renji seems to be friends with him, so he ought to be able to recognise cigarettes and the smell and ash associated with them.

Warning: Smoking is dangerous to the smoker's health, and, more importantly, to the people around him who breathe in the second-hand smoke. This Fan Story does not encourage the habit of smoking.

**Qi (the Chinese spelling) refers to a person's life force, or internal energy, and is associated with Traditional Chinese Medicine and martial arts. _Ki_ is the Japanese version of this word. In martial arts manga like _Hokuto no Ken_ (Translated as _Fist of the North Star_) or the Korean manga _The Breaker_, strong fighters have a lot of Ki, which they can use to intimidate or even damage their opponents.


	7. Three spirits walk into a bar…

The Next Great Adventure

Chapter 7: Three spirits walk into a bar…

The morning after the transformation of Remus Lupin

Ichigo's Point of View

I opened my eyes slowly. Everything was a blur. When my vision had adjusted, I found that I was looking at Rukia's face. I looked around and found that I was in my own room. Now I remember: last night, I had stumbled back here, just avoiding being detected by the bloody caretaker, whatever his name was, and immediately collapsed on the bed and fell asleep. Rukia waved her hand in front of my face to get my attention.

"So…did you find anything last night?" Her arms were now folded and she had a frosty expression. Clearly, she thought that my little trip last night, which I might add she knew nothing about, was a waste of time. Nice try, Rukia. I did find something interesting.

"Yeah."

"What is – "

"Not telling you now. Go for your lessons or something. I'll talk later."

"But – "

"Like I said, I'll tell you later." I got up and mustered what wits I could at this ungodly hour and thought of what to do. Rukia opened her mouth to argue again. I cut her off, "I need you to take something to Lupin."

"Professor Lupin? But he's sick!"

"I know; don't worry, it's nothing big. He can handle it," I took a notepad from my desk and wrote a small note on it – a letter requesting a follow-up check on Professor Lupin for his health, after all his lessons for the day were over. I passed it to Rukia and said, "Give him this, tell him to see me in the Hospital Wing."

She hesitantly took the letter and said, "Alright. But we'll be expecting a full explanation later."

"You'll get one, I promise," I told her seriously, "But last night was…confusing. I need time to sort out my thoughts first."

She nodded, looking somewhat sympathetic, and left. Looks like she really didn't know what happened the previous night. After my training over the last 17 months after the war ended, I was able to mask most of my reiatsu, and besides, I was in my human body last night – The body has a slight reiatsu-masking effect, which combined with my slick stealth skills, meant that Rukia shouldn't have been able to feel my reiatsu. Of course, there was also the evil aura that I knew I was emitting the previous night, the same stuff I called _ki_. Like I told the girls yesterday, it was very different from reiatsu. I knew from experience that one could completely hide their reiatsu and still be unable to suppress this special aura – which some Shinigami referred to as _Killing Intent_. But the two girls sucked at sensing such auras; after all, they were unable to sense what I had sensed the previous day. In other words, Rukia and Hinamori likely had no idea what had happened the previous night. The only clues they had that _something_ had happened was that I had gone to sleep in my jeans and coat, and there were twigs on my clothes and some dried leaves on my hair – it was as if I had run through a bush before coming back to my room and collapsing on my bed.

I got up from bed and started walking in circles around my room, thinking. I knew something was wrong last night. Not trusting my memory to work well at this time, I took out a notepad and started writing what I knew. Soon, I had a list of events and the circumstances surrounding them.

Subconscious takes over – I'm better at sensing those weird auras this way

I go to Remus Lupin's room – he's not there, but there's a wolf. The room is where the aura is coming from, so maybe the wolf is giving off this aura? _Is Lupin the wolf? _It sounds improbable, but it's not impossible. A lot of weird stuff can be done with magic.

I black out – must be because of the aura. I think it is possible to overpower an enemy with sheer killing intent. But how could we not have sensed such a powerful enemy?

When I regain my senses, I'm in my inner world – I have time, because time runs faster in here than in the real world. I talk to Zangetsu and he says I blacked out and started attacking the dog for some reason. The only way to bring me back was to have my Hollow possess me, and then hand over control to me, which was why I was wearing my mask.

Then, I hear someone, and I have to leave. In my tired, dizzy state of mind, I decide to apologise to the dog. And as if that's not bad enough, I do it in Japanese instead of English. _Warui koto shita na_ – 'I've done something bad', literally. It's like saying 'my bad' to the freaking _dog_. Great. Just great.

Even after writing it all down, there's a big gap between blacking out and regaining consciousness through the help of my inner Hollow. But Zangetsu seems to know what's going on – I'll just ask him. I lie down on the bed and focus. This was something my father taught me a while back. Using breathing techniques and focus, I can enter my inner world without even pushing my Shinigami form out of my human body.

When I enter, Zangetsu and the Hollow are both already at the same place as I am, and it seems they've anticipated my arrival – they're seated on plush leather chairs and there's an empty one for me.

"Whoa! Where did these come from?" I asked as I took a seat.

"There are offices in the skyscrapers – We just went in and took the chairs out," says Zangetsu with a shrug.

"Alright…Tell me what happened last night, guys."

Zangetsu nods and recounts the incidents of the previous night. I struggled to prevent myself from interrupting his incredible story of What Happened To Me When I Was Unconscious.

"So, when I met the wolf, I sort of fell unconscious and my subconscious took over. And I recruited the wolf as a partner in a duel against the dog – which was also emitting the aura of killing intent. I fought it, and after a while, you asked him," I indicated the Hollow, "to possess me, so my subconscious no longer could run wild."

"That's right," Zangetsu intoned. So that's what it was – I became like a wild animal once again. He looked at my eyes and instantly read me – he realised I was feeling guilty. He leaned inwards and said tightly, "Just in case you're wondering, it doesn't mean that your subconscious is inherently violent. It's just because of the influence of Hollow reiatsu combined with some external factor."

"External factor? You mean something triggered this off?"

"Yes. I think it may be the wolf. As soon as you saw him, you blacked out and then the Hollow reiatsu took over. It controlled you."

I asked, "How'd you know it was Hollow reiatsu, anyway?"

Zangetsu stroked his beard and said, "Your behaviour yesterday…was a textbook example of how Hollows respond to changes in their environment. You felt two sources of strong killing intent yesterday – the wolf and the black dog. You counted both as strong fighters. You decided to go and fight the dog, just like Hollows seek out strong enemies to fight, and you took the wolf with you as a partner, or rather, as a familiar. So, I thought that Hollow reiatsu must be responsible for this."

"But Hollows don't usually take partners into battle – if they start losing, the partner will just betray them and take the winner's side. That way, the partner saves his own skin." I argued. My Zanpakuto nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, I considered that too. I think it shows that your own influence remained behind even though the Hollow reiatsu took you over. You took a partner, showing that your capacity to trust others is still intact. You even protected the wolf when the dog looked as if it was going to attack it. Hollows don't normally go out of their way to protect their partners."

I mulled the idea over in my head. Finally, I said, "It felt terrible. Just before I lost consciousness, I felt something take over my body, and it was…_intangible_. When the Hollow took over me in the past, it was something tangible – I could see and feel him. I could fight him and take control of myself again. But this time, whatever took over my mind, I could not see it or fight it."

Zangetsu said thoughtfully, "It's normal to feel that way. This is the first time such an incident has happened. Now we know what causes it, so next time we can take action."

I nodded. The Hollow got angry at my lack of response and started shouting at me. I was surprised he actually kept his mouth shut up till then.

"Don't be such a pussy, Ichigo! You're still afraid, aren't – "

I snapped, "Hey, come here,"

Surprised, he leaned over – and I punched him hard, sending him flying.

"What the hell! What was that for, bastard? !"

"Nothing – it just makes me feel better. Got a problem with that?" I challenged. I was much stronger than him, and he knew it.

"…no," he said quietly, looking away.

"Good. I thought so." I said. I turned to Zangetsu, "Thanks for the talk, Zangetsu."

He nodded and said, "Next time this happens, we shall work together to stop it. I'll pump your body up with Shinigami reiatsu to counteract the Hollow reiatsu. And I need you to do some things as well: You need to suppress your fear and anxiety. Throw away feelings of rage and the desire to do violence to others. That will prevent the Hollow reiatsu from growing stronger."

I nodded in agreement and exited my inner world, feeling refreshed. What happened last night was a freak incident, but now I'm confident it won't happen again. In fact, I'm already wondering if I can master this technique of madness. This is my own subconscious, albeit tainted with Hollow reiatsu. If I can tap into its strength, I probably won't ever have to use the Hollow mask again. I'm even thinking of a name – _Black Techs*_, maybe? Yeah, I'm a huge _Beelzebub_ fan. Last night, I estimated my power levels were pretty close to my usual levels when I'm using Shikai in my Shinigami body – and that's saying something, considering I was still in my human body at that time. If my human body becomes this powerful in the Super Subconscious Mode, how much more will I be able to do in my Shinigami form?

But that's a problem for another day. I can work it out next time. For now, I need to work out what to do with Lupin. I went to his room yesterday and found a wolf. What did that mean? Maybe he _was_ the wolf. Zangetsu thought that the wolf might have triggered last night's Awesome Autopilot Mode – so I had to get a sense of any reiatsu the guy might have had, assuming that he was the wolf – he could possibly have Hollow reiatsu. I walked over to my suitcase and rummaged inside it. After a few minutes, I find what I was looking for – a reiatsu detector given to me by Toshiro. The kid captain didn't trust my reiatsu-detecting abilities, so he gave me the detector, which was made by Seireitei's Research and Development Bureau. I had played around with it a little back at 15 King's Road, just to familiarise myself with the device. It had some pretty cool features, including being able to detect even slight amounts of reiatsu, and also being able to store records of each individual's unique signature. I could record Lupin's signature, then compare it to the wolf's signature if I ever saw it again.

I sat down on the bed again and thought about what I wanted to say. Soon, I was ready for my interview with Lupin.

After school hours, that day

Hospital Wing

Lupin walked into the Hospital Wing, looking somewhat flustered and tired. I lift a hand and say casually, "Hey,"

He stops short and looks at me, his eyebrows raised and his mouth in a very thin line. He slowly backs away, and places a hand on the doorknob.

What, is he trying to run away?

Correction: Is he dumb enough to think that he can outrun me?

I snap, "Come here. Something weird happened last night and I need answers."

His hand drops from the doorknob and he hesitantly sits in the chair I had pulled up for him. He's still silent. From under my table, I switch on my reiatsu detector. Luckily, it's entirely silent, and I'm a pro at using gadgets without even looking at them (Yes, it's an essential school skill. Where we used to excel at passing notes in secret, now we type and send text messages without looking at our phones). So he has no idea I've just scanned his reiatsu and stored a record of his reiatsu signature for future reference.

"So…last night I walked into your room. You weren't there, but there was a wolf. What's with that?" I quizzed.

"Uhh…well…"

Lupin's Point of View

Oh crap. OH. CRAP. The bloke who found me, this random young man with orange hair who suddenly walked into my room last night when I was in my wolf form was here and he was questioning me. All the heads of house knew about my…condition, but none of the other staff knew. Now he knew. Now he would blab and I would have to resign. Should I just wipe his memory now?

He says, "I felt something weird last night. Saw someone familiar. So I decided to check it out and ended up at your door. I know I shouldn't have walked in on you and all, but I had no choice."

I still didn't say anything. Eventually, he sighed and shook his head.

"Well, I suppose you don't know anything about it. But one more thing: Have you seen this big black dog in school anywhere?"

I almost gasped. Yesterday, a few seconds after seeing this boy when he walked into my office, I went unconscious – and some time later, I found myself in another area of the castle. I remembered seeing a black dog. I also saw something intensely frightening – the boy seemed to be in pain and was doubling over, clutching his stomach. The frightening part was that a white, thick-looking liquid was pouring out of his mouth and nostrils and was covering his face. At once, the instincts of the wolf took over and I bolted, too afraid to stay and find out what happened next. I had forgotten all about the dog.

_Sirius Black was an animagus – and his animal form was that of a big black dog. Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban Prison and was expected to go after Harry Potter – the boy who was responsible for the death of his master, Lord Voldemort. Sirius Black had escaped the dementors once – who's to say he couldn't possibly get past the dementors stationed at Hogsmeade and all around Hogwarts Castle?_

My mind spinning, I cried desperately, "The dog! Describe it!"

He looked surprised, but to my relief, he cooperated, "Well…it was big and black. It had yellow eyes."

"What did you do to him?"

He became somewhat defensive, "It attacked me, so I fought back!"

"Did it run off or something?"

"No, I left first. Or rather, the wolf left first. It ran off. Then, I left the place and I don't know what happened to the dog."

I cursed. I had no concrete evidence, but I knew in my gut that the dog was Sirius. It _had_ to be him. But now he was gone.

A few weeks later

Hospital Wing

Ichigo's Point of View

I was not a happy man. It had been a few weeks after the incident, and I still had found nothing about the wolf or the dog. I paced the hospital wing angrily, and if students came in, I responded badly, harshly criticising them for their carelessness and dismissing them telling them not to get injured again. Luckily Madam Pomfrey never saw me doing that; if she did, she would surely have dismissed me, or at least given me the proverbial slap on the wrists.

Besides that, the mission wasn't going too well. We came here to find clues pointing to Aizen, but we've not found a single noteworthy thing. The wolf and the dog may mean something big, but I may simply be chasing shadows in the end. The only part of our mission that's going well is our magical education. Rukia and Hinamori were picking up skills very quickly and their teachers praised them for having talent well above average for their age. Sure, they hadn't been so competent the first few months of the school year because they had had less practice and experience than their peers, but afterwards, their learning curve became much steeper.

I was also doing my own research and I had secretly mastered many magical techniques. These techniques had to be used in conjunction with spirit energy in order to be any use against Hollows or other Shinigami – meaning that humans would never be able to use them. Only problem was, I had not tested them. I had run into absolutely no Hollows lately, and I couldn't spar with Rukia or Hinamori either. No offence to either of them, but our power levels are so different that it wouldn't even be good training for me. Of course, _they_ could benefit from fighting me, even if it's of no use to me. But where would we go and fight? Where's Urahara's basement when you need it?

As I continue brooding about it, there is a series of knocks on the door. I frown – another patient? I hiss and shake my head, trying the clear out the frustration, and call out, "Come in!"

Just as I had predicted, it is a girl – she's a Slytherin, going by her tie, and she has pale skin and dark brown hair – bob hairstyle and bangs parted from the middle. In a bored voice, I ask, "What's wrong?"

She hesitates, twisting her hands slightly.

"Hi, I'm Pansy Parkinson. I…feel ill."

God, how I hate those words! Those patients who approach a doctor saying they're ill, and expect that sensei** will magically figure out what's wrong with them. I've seen those patients often at my dad's clinic.

Patiently, I ask, "What're your symptoms? Fever? Sore throat? Pain?"

"Well, I think I have a fever, and a sore throat…"

Raising an eyebrow, I carefully place the back of my hand on her forehead – it's cool. I get a tongue depressor and check her throat – it's fine. A suspicion crosses my mind. Let's test it out, shall we?

"Do you have difficulty breathing?"

She practically pounces on those words, "Yeah! Not always, thank God, but it happens sometimes! Every time I go for Hagrid's lessons, I feel terrible, like I can't breathe!"

"Do your hands tremble when you hold them up?" I'm not even looking at her anymore. I've turned my chair away to face my table. I grab my notepad and start writing some things down.

"Yes…Oh my God! They're trembling right now!"

I look at her. Her hands _are_ trembling, but they are very clearly forced. That's all the proof I need. She's just faking her symptoms. Normally, students seeking an excuse to skip lessons would have to create a fake illness by themselves, but this one didn't have to – _I_ supplied the symptoms and she just played along. I sigh inwardly and start to tell her to go back and that there's nothing wrong with her. But then, I felt something.

_Hollow reiatsu. Along with Shinigami reiatsu – almost like they were mixed_.

I looked at the window, sweat forming on my forehead. There was no doubt about it – this was the unique reiatsu emitted by an arrancar. I have to go. NOW.

"Go back to class, now!"

"But – "

"I doubt there's anything wrong with you."

She gets mad and shouts, "You can't know that! What if I have some kind of disease!"

I take a step back – her spit is flying at me! I look around, then an idea hits me. Her name was Parkinson, wasn't it?

"You know what? You're right – you do have a disease. You're pure-blood, aren't you?"

She tosses her head back haughtily, "Of course I am!"

Good! Just going by my experience of wizards over the past few months, pure-bloods, or at least those who were proud of it, tended to be the more ignorant ones. I look at her very seriously and say, "You…have Parkinson's Disease."

She goes very pale – well, paler then she already was. She breathes, "Am I…gonna die?"

She bought it! She actually believed she had _Parkinson's disease_! Trying not to laugh, I nod, very gravely, "But…only if you're not treated. Here're some pills. Just take them once a day before you go to sleep, no more and no less, and you'll be fine!" I grin at her with false cheer as I give her a box of aspirins. She was stupid enough to imagine that the symptoms I rattled off were real – she'll probably start 'feeling better' once she takes the placebo I gave her.

She takes it very gladly and runs off, closely examining the box of tablets before apparently deciding it wasn't worth looking at and shoving it into her blouse. What the hell! Do I not even get some thanks for treating her? Bitch.

Well, to hell with her. The arrancar reiatsu was still around, and it was in the direction of the village near Hogwarts. I dash back to my room and open the drawer in my study table. From it, I grab my Substitute badge. Lying down on my bed, I slam the badge against my chest. This way, my body is on the bed, looking like it's sleeping, while I'm in my Shinigami form. I was still wearing the basic Shihakusho, with some added accessories, like black gloves, and my sports shoes. I grab my phone and put it in my pocket. I check the sealed sword at my side, and adjust its position. Just as I'm about to leave, I hesitate…then take my wand and put it in my other pocket before leaving.

I jump out of the window and hurry towards the village, using spirit particles in the air to run across the sky itself. Most of the people here have too little reiatsu, so I don't have to worry about being seen. I move up higher as I get closer to the source of reiatsu, which is just outside the outskirts of the town, and survey the ground. I can see two people. From this height, all I can see is the colour of their hair and their clothes – they're both dressed in black, and one has black or brown hair while the other has…green hair? That's an odd hair colour. Even orange is normal compared to that. The green one is waving wildly, even jumping up and down. Ok…so they didn't seem hostile or anything. I start descending, and end up a few metres away from them.

However, as soon as I'm down, the green one pounces. They tricked me! But then, I realise that the Arrancar wasn't attacking – he was hugging me. Or rather, _she_ was hugging me. I turned slightly red. Thank God I didn't freak out like I used to when a…_well-endowed_ woman hugged me.

"I've missed you, Ichigo!"

"Hey, could you – "

"It's been so long!"

Ok, ok. That's all very good, but I'd like to see who you are. I place my hands on her waist (No, I was _not_ trying to cop a feel) and push her away slightly so I can see her face. I blurt out, "_Nel_?"

Nelliel tu Odelschwanck – the former Third Espada. The little amnesiac kid I found in Hueco Mundo all those months ago, and who helped me out in Las Noches. She beams at me happily, while holding onto my shoulders as well. She has hardly changed. Her voice is high-pitched as usual, her eyes are the same shade of grey, and her hair is exactly the same shade of blue-green, except it's now slightly shorter and tied up, leaving bangs on her face. The mask fragment is still on her head. She's wearing black pants with a white blouse and a black vest. I stop scrutinising her and turn to the person she was with. To my surprise…Nel's partner, a man with brown hair and some facial hair, is on the ground, fast asleep.

"Umm…that guy…"

She facepalms and says, "It's fine. He's just…very lazy." She marches over to him and bellows, "STARRK! Wake up!" while slapping his belly.

"What? How long was I out?" the guys asks as he gets up. He's wearing a black hoodie, under which I can see a white button-up shirt. He's also wearing black pants like Nel. I can see his Hollow hole on the base of his neck, and the remains of his Hollow mask slightly higher up. When he sees me staring at him in bemusement, he says, "Yo,"

"Sorry to be so blunt, but _who the hell are you_?"

He chuckles at my tone and says, "Coyote Starrk. I used to be an Espada under Aizen."

"Kurosaki Ichigo," I introduce myself, shaking his hand. I had no idea who this guy was, but if Nel brought him along, I could trust him. Otherwise, I would be extending my blade rather than my hand. Nel smiles at us and suggests, "We've got a lot to discuss, so let's go have a drink and talk things over, shall we?"

We walk into the village and get into the most popular bar – The Three Broomsticks. As a staff member, I'm allowed to visit Hogsmeade on my time off, and I come here often to have drinks and have the occasional chat with an interesting-enough person. The three of us take a seat. I wave over the attractive bartender, Madam Rosmerta. But she doesn't answer. I try again. Still no response. Nel yells at her – still no answer.

I facepalm as I realise why she's not answering. The two arrancar and I are spirits – there's no way Rosmerta can see us! The others catch on and groan. Looks like we're condemned to sit down and talk in thirst. Nel starts her story.

"The war ended about a year and a half ago. Most of us were still injured heavily. Starrk and Halibel*** almost died in Fake Karakura Town, but they were saved from the brink of death by your friend Inoue when she visited Hueco Mundo after the war."

Seeing my confusion upon hearing her words, Starrk shipped in helpfully, "Tia Halibel's the former Third Espada." I nodded gratefully, and Nel continued.

"The survivors, about 5 former Espada and several Fraccion, are the only ones left, and we're using Las Noches as our base."

"It's a pain," mutters Starrk, "The ones who survived were the good-for-nothings. The only thing we ever did was fight. All those who had useful skills were dead. Our resident scientist-doctor was killed by a Shinigami Captain, same goes for our best cook. For the past year and a half, Nel's been secretly attending Med School, I've been tinkering around with the machines and gadgets lying about in the castle, trying to understand them, and the rest have been doing whatever they're able to."

"A self-taught engineer and a doctor, huh? That's impressive," I murmured. This was indeed good news. I didn't think that all the Arrancar were necessarily bad people. They too ended up getting betrayed by Aizen, and so I pitied them, ultimately. These guys were now picking up the pieces and living on. Since they caused no trouble for us so far, I had no problem with that at all.

"So, Doctor Nel, what brings you to the Real World now of all times? How did you guys even know where I was?" I asked, smiling.

Nel chuckled and said, "Our scientist, Szayel Aporro Grantz, built many fantastic machines when he was still alive. There were several computers with many different functions. Some were damaged, but Starrk managed to repair them and he even got us a connection to the real world's internet. We found out where you were by searching for your reiatsu. The best we could do was to find that you were in Northern Britain, but once we arrived, we could pinpoint your location by following your reiatsu signature. One day, when Starrk was testing the machines out, he found something incredible – _Aizen's still alive_."

I blinked, "Yeah…I'm already aware of that,"

"Yeah, we thought you might be," Starrk muttered, "We didn't come out here just to tell you about that – We did follow-up checks over and over again, hardly daring to believe the information we got. We know without a doubt that Aizen's alive, and the bastard's somewhere in Britain."

I narrowed my eyes slightly, noting the way he referred to Aizen as a 'bastard'. Their old boss was alive, but they seemed to hate him. Were they working against him? Either way, they hadn't given me any useful information yet. Then, Nel said something that caught my attention, "Of course, we didn't stop there. We continued snooping around, trying to find information about him, like where he was hiding, or who his current allies were."

"What'd you find?" I asked, intrigued.

Nel took a folder out of her handbag and leafed through it, taking out a few sheets of paper.

"Unfortunately, it's not that much," she warns as she places the papers on the table. There are some graphs on the first sheet, and the second is full of text.

"What do these mean?" I ask. Nel smiles, "I'm not too sure myself; that's why I asked Starrk to come along. He understands this stuff more than any of the rest of us."

Starrk points at the first graph, which is a line graph and says, "We found a recorded sample of Aizen's reiatsu, so we ran a scan all over Britain for this reiatsu. The timeline starts from 5 months after the War ended – from that point in time till 8 months later, Aizen's reiatsu all over the world was zero."

"So you're saying that since the war ended, Aizen's reiatsu was not, umm, present at all in the world for 13 months?"

"Yeah. But look here," He indicated a point where the line spiked upwards.

"A sudden increase in his reiatsu," I guessed, "In Britain?"

"Yup. We suddenly found his signature in Britain. We can't tell what place it is, though."

"Anything else?"

Nel took over, "Yeah. Ever heard of a man named Sirius Black?"

I had definitely heard of him. I hadn't exactly bothered to keep track of news, but it was hard _not_ to know something about Black. I knew that he was a murderer on the loose, and an old supporter of Lord Voldemort. I'd done my research on the dark wizard; he had had a reign of terror before his unexpected death – killing people who disagreed with him, using dark magic, etc etc.

Nel points to the second piece of paper, the one with text.

"It's a transcript of a conversation one of our members overheard. Basically, it's two men having a conversation. Aizen's name was mentioned here," She pointed at a line on the paper, "and Sirius Black was mentioned here."

I skimmed through the paper. Most of the text was meaningless, but there was some useful information. The exchange was barely what one might call a dialogue; most of it was one man speaking to the other to give him orders. The most important parts of the text went as follows:

_Man 1: Lord Aizen is, at the moment, vulnerable. Allies are needed until he regains his strength. We can't go to the British Shinigami, for obvious reasons, but we can still make use of the community of wizards hiding here._

_Man 2: Allies among the wizards? How will we infiltrate? I can't use magic._

_Man 1: It's fine. Anyone with above-average reiatsu for a human being can use magic. You can learn at your own pace. But that's not necessary right now. All you need to do is to subdue Sirius Black and bring him to me._

_Man 2 (after long pause): Because of his links to the Dark Lord, huh?_

_Man 1: Precisely. Get it done ASAP._

_Man 2: Got it._

That was about it. I asked, "How long ago was this?"

"It was just last week. This Dark Lord they mentioned is almost definitely Lord Voldemort. Sirius Black is known to have links to him."

I gasp, "He's making his move, then!" My mind races as I think of what to do.

"Where did this conversation take place?"

"It was in the Tower of London. There's actually a secret underground tunnel built by wizards, and it seems they're using it as a base. We've kept a watch on it."

I leaned back and thought about it. It may not seem like it, but I do note the things that go on in Hogwarts, and I remember all the significant events. Earlier this school year, there was the incident of Sirius Black breaking into Hogwarts. It caused a big stir, with a portrait being ripped up badly and the castle practically went into lockdown. All the students had to go to the Great Hall, and they spent the night there while the teachers searched the castle for Black. As a Staff member, I took part in the search as well. We looked all over but none of us found anything.

But something important happened afterward: my conversation with, and, ultimately, my orders to Rukia and Hinamori.

_Flashback Starts_

_The morning after Sirius Black's break-in, I met with Rukia and Hinamori. The two girls looked concerned – and I found it odd. _

"_What's on your mind?" I asked casually._

"_Don't give me that rubbish!" Rukia snapped at me in Japanese, "Our friends could have died last night if they had met with that murderer!"_

_I looked at them in shock. Friends? So that's what they were concerned about! As a staff member in the Hospital Wing, I didn't bother to make friends. I occasionally spoke with my colleagues, like Madam Pomfrey and some of the teachers, but not very often. Not enough to call them friends, certainly. But the two girls were different. They were in school now – if this had happened before the war, Rukia would most certainly have not made friends – she was too awkward for that then. But she was much more sociable now and it shouldn't have been surprising that she made many friends among the students here._

"_Friends? Yeah, friends are important…" I muttered, quite dumbly._

"_Yeah, that's right. You've never been a stranger to that concept!" Rukia reminded me. I shook my head vigorously and cleared my mind. I wasn't thinking straight._

_Hinamori said, "You're not a captain yet, but there's no point to this exercise if we don't follow your orders now. If you're fine with it, we can go after Sirius Black and end it here."_

_I mulled the option over in my mind. The laws of the British Agency concerning the real world and dealings with humans were strict. What could we do? I came to a decision._

"_No. We won't go after him – not yet, at least." The girls appeared shocked. I explained, "There's still a lot we don't know. Black is still a human – we can't do anything about him in our capacity as Shinigami."_

_They protested, "You want us to just stand by and watch as he goes about terrorising the school?"_

"_I never told you he was entirely off-limits. We're Shinigami, but we're also humans. We're also wizards. You can use magic to fight him. And if your friends, or anyone in this castle, are threatened by him, don't hesitate to fight him. Protecting those dear to you should never be considered a crime."_

"_Alright!"_

_Flashback Ends_

Well…now we had a solid reason to go after Black. I turn to the two former Espada.

"I need to get word to the other Shinigami in Britain. Problem is, I can't get a signal for my phone. Can't even use email."

Nel says, "Ah!" and pulls out a sleek black netbook from her bag and turns it on. Starrk connects a mobile internet USB stick to it.

"We found out that we couldn't get a signal close to this area for some reason, so I tweaked this stick to strengthen the signal. Use Nel's computer to get an email to them – We've scanned the transcript, it's on the desktop. It's the best we can do for now."

He then appears thoughtful and says, "Pass me your phone."

It's a surprising request but I comply. He turns it over in his hand and examines it carefully. While he does his thing, I promptly start typing. It's probably better this way. An email can be more elaborate, and the others can spend more time on the subject and come to a sound conclusion. This is what I wrote:

_I've just been visited by two of the Arrancar. They seem to be working against Aizen now, and I trust them. They've told me that they overheard two men talking in the Tower of London (the transcript is enclosed as an attachment) and it seems that they are thinking of recruiting Sirius Black for Aizen. At the very least, they're trying to use him to form a link to the dark wizard Voldemort. Rukia, Hinamori and I will try and get to Black before Aizen's cronies, and we need you to do the same._

_Also, they might be using the Tower of London as a base, as the conversation I just mentioned took place there, last week. If any Arrancar come calling, don't attack them right away; they're fighting the same enemy we are._

Or were they? I paused from my typing and asked, "What are the arrancar doing now anyway?"

"We're just…getting by, I guess. Doing what we can, and picking up the pieces after the war. We're a bit of a loose-knit organisation now. The black top is practically a uniform for us."

"But why are you guys doing this? Are you guys against Aizen now?"

"What can I say? He did betray us," Starrk yawned, "We won't actively seek him out, but we don't mind helping you out. Oh, here's your phone."

Surprised, I took it from him, "What? I've got a signal now! How'd you do that?"

He grins, "Trade secret." And I make a long face. Well, whatever. At least I can use my phone now. I check the email, add the attachments and add in a note.

_P.S. Phones normally don't work in Hogwarts, but the arrancar just did something to my phone and it works now. Call if you need anything._

_Send!_

_To be continued_

*Black Techs is a certain technique in the manga _Beelzebub_ (which is an excellent series). All you need to know is that it involves a human being voluntarily possessed by a demon for a short time in exchange for a great boost in power.

**Sensei is a Japanese honorific that is used for doctors as well as teachers.

***The official spelling of the Tres Espada's name is 'Tier Harribel', but I use 'Tia Halibel' 'cause it sounds more elegant, in my opinion. According to the Bleach wiki, Starrk is also officially dead, but he's alive here in this story (obviously).


	8. Prison Break

The Next Great Adventure

Chapter 8: Prison Break

Chelsea

Hisagi Shuhei's Point of View

A loud war cry rang out as my colleague and friend Abarai Renji delivered a solid punch to a Hollow's mask, shattering it and purifying it instantly.

"Good job, Renji!" I called out. Since the little jaunt to the Tower of London undertaken by Renji, Mihane and Lily, we had gone on similar trips to follow possible leads to Aizen, but none had yielded positive results. So, we had a lot of free time, which we used to learn magic (at a very slow pace) or to fight Hollows. I sighed as I considered our current situation. We're doing pretty much nothing in Britain. We're wasting our time and, I feared, our strength. But then again, as a captain, we'll always have these long periods of inactivity. A captain's job is surprisingly dreary. Exceptional, and I dare say, _exciting_ situations like Ichigo's intrusion into Seireitei all those years ago are very rare. I suppose Captain Hitsugaya is also testing us on how well we cope in these dreadful times of waiting for something to happen, so we have to be careful and keep our cool. Renji knows this well, despite his headstrong nature. Ichigo is probably the only one who doesn't know of this; thank God he's kept busy in Hogwarts, where he can't do anything stupid and screw up badly.

But then, my phone vibrates momentarily. It stops quickly, so I know it's not a call. I check it. Speak of the devil!

"Hey, Renji! I just got an email from Ichigo!"

"What? That bastard's been out of contact for _months_! How come he chooses to send us mail now, of all times?"

I smack his head, "Don't you remember James warning us that phones don't work in Hogwarts 'cause magic interferes with phone signals? This means he finally found a way to communicate without using Hell Butterflies or owls."

We chuckled – Ichigo hadn't been trained to use Hell Butterflies and everyone flat-out refused to use owls carrying hand-written letters. Seriously – kids these days and their inexplicable distaste for the art of handwriting and calligraphy. God, I sound like an old man. Clearing my head, I read the email on my Blackberry™ and start summarising it for Renji's benefit.

"Alright…it's addressed to both of us, and Captain Hitsugaya. Wow! He's been visited by some Arrancar, who're working against Aizen. I suppose that makes them our allies."

"_The enemy of our enemy is our friend_, huh?" Renji muses. He's right. This is exactly why we sided with Muguruma Kensei and his Shinigami-Hollow hybrid friends during the war. The same reasoning applies here, and while it's not so easy to trust those you once fought against, we've become much more relaxed when dealing with Arrancar and Hollows. We went into Hueco Mundo a few times and met the survivors, with whom we held interviews as part of a massive so-called post-mortem analysis of Aizen's activities. They were pretty broken people (yes, the ones who were there now think of them as actual people rather than as Hollows) after the war was over, for the first few months, but after that, they became more accustomed to everyday life.

Anyway, I continued my narration, "They say that Aizen's cronies are out looking for Sirius Black – supposedly a follower of Lord Voldemort."

"Sirius Black? The guy who's been on TV for a while now? The news says he's a murderer armed with a gun," Renji said.

"Yeah – I have no idea why he's interested in this guy. He may be a major criminal, but he's still human – unless he has spiritual powers or something. Anyway, moving on…hey, listen to this," My voice took on an urgent tone, "The arrancar found this out at the Tower of London, last week!"

That was intriguing! Turns out there really was more to the Tower than we thought.

"He tells us not to attack the arrancar on sight if they come calling – implying that they'll visit us here. And…he says we can call him now because the arrancar did something to his phone so it works in Hogwarts. That's about it."

I finished and we headed back to base to receive our new instructions. I opened the door of 15 King's Road, calling out, "We're back!"

"Welcome back!" replied Rangiku-san. I hope I wasn't blushing too hard! Someone else mutters, "Hey" It turns out to be James, who's sitting on the couch and looking very closely at a computer screen. I frown: He was a pure-blood wizard, from the lecture on magic he gave us some time ago, so that means his parents were wizards. They had no need of Muggle appliances – maybe he was trying to figure out how to use the laptop in front of him? Stifling my laughter, I took a seat next to him and said, "Hey, let me help you,"

"What? No, I'm fine," he says. Oh. Looks like he was ok. I noticed that he was viewing an email – using Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya's account (Yes, the name of the account actually included the title 'captain')! This would be a great opportunity to play a prank!…but I don't have a death wish. James suddenly let out a deep breath and sank back on the couch, startling me. He looks very deep in thought.

"I assume you just read Ichigo's email?" I asked.

"Yeah. I suppose we just have to catch Siri-…Black now."

He was about to say 'Sirius', but then switched to 'Black'? It was odd, but I decide not to press him on that. He looks tired enough as it is. He suddenly gets up and walks off, saying, "I'm going to get some sleep,"

We sympathetically say 'goodnight,' and leave it at that. Poor guy looks like a zombie!

"Rangiku-san…have you read the email?" Renji asked.

"Yeah. We'll have to be on the lookout for this guy now – luckily, he's all over the news, so we know what he looks like. Plus, we've got Ichigo and his team searching as well."

"Either way, this confirms that Aizen is indeed linked to the Wizarding society in some way or another. We need to brush up on our Magic so he doesn't catch us off-guard."

Hogwarts

Ichigo's Point of View

I was slightly on edge – yes, once again. Not surprising at all. But this time, I had good reason – Weeks had passed without any sign of Sirius Black. I'd done my research more thoroughly this time, but still no luck, because even a bunch of Dementors couldn't find him – how was I to find such an elusive bastard?

Besides that, I haven't seen the wolf yet. The only noteworthy thing was this: Some time ago, at night-time, I happened to be looking at my reiatsu sensor device. The datalogger showed no sign of anything out of the ordinary in the reiatsu of everyone I'd scanned with the device (which included Lupin, Rukia, Hinamori and some others). But then, Lupin's reiatsu began to change somewhat. It suddenly spiked, then dropped, settling at a level slightly higher than what it was before it started to change. I had immediately rushed to his room – but it was open, and nobody was inside. The only good thing was that it was a night of the full moon. I stayed out a short while for stargazing before returning.

The frustration was really bad. I had to control myself, so I didn't do anything stupid while trying to find Sirius Black, or while chasing the mysterious Wolf.

Meanwhile

Rukia's Point of View

I wiped the sweat from my brow as I left the examination Hall. Though it was hard to believe, it had been a few months short of a year since we had arrived at Hogwarts, and almost a full year since arriving in Britain itself. Hinamori-san and I had had a full year's worth of Magical Education, and we both had done our own research to improve ourselves with skills not taught to students at out level. Right now, I had just ended my last examination paper – History of Magic. It was an extremely boring subject, and I was in half a mind to stop focusing on it, since it wouldn't help us in our fight against Aizen anyway. But as high-ranking members of the Gotei-13, we had to excel in what we did, so we paid attention and tried to do well in it. As I left, Hinamori-san joined me, along with Ginny Weasley, one of our friends.

We started chatting about the paper and comparing answers. Ginny wasn't too happy; History of Magic wasn't her strong suit! But then, the topic changed, and she asked worriedly, "Hey, how'd you think the case against Buckbeak and Hagrid went?"

Our faces fell as well. We had hardly any time to think about Buckbeak – all we knew about the events surrounding the magical beast (specifically, a Hippogriff) called Buckbeak was that it had attacked a student from Slytherin House, and that student's father was suing Hagrid because of it. The Gryffindors said that it wasn't Hagrid's fault for he had warned everyone not to provoke the beasts – and that Slytherin Student had directly disobeyed this order and had hurt himself as a result. On the other hand, the Slytherins were adamant that Hagrid was training dangerous beasts and that he ought not to be a teacher – and that Buckbeak ought to be put down like a rabid dog. Truth be told, I couldn't care less; we had a mission, after all. We couldn't waste time on such trivial matters. But the months I'd spent here had seen me make friends with the people around me – and I had slowly adopted the mindset that their problems were my problems too. At the very least, I had to show some sympathy. I patted her arm gently, "I'm sure it went well for Hagrid, Ginny. Don't worry too much about it,"

She smiled at me, then suddenly her face turned bright red. I raise my eyebrows – I think I already know what caused this. Harry Potter must be nearby. I look around – sure enough, he's nearby, walking somewhere with those two friends who seem to always be at his side: Hermione and Ron. I know Hermione well, because we see each other at the library frequently. I also know Ron since he's Ginny's brother. She keeps badmouthing him, and he, in return, bullies her once in a while – All in all, a pretty normal Brother-Sister relationship. Potter and his friends are going somewhere in a hurry. As I follow them with my eyes, I realise where they're going.

"Oh…I think they're going down to Hagrid's hut," Hinamori beats me to the punch.

"Should we go as well? Maybe…" Ginny starts. I firmly shake my head and say, "Don't worry too much about it. I don't know how the trial went, but those three know Hagrid better than us – they can…help out," I said, not knowing what else to tell her. It was hard enough dealing with normal humans – but teenage girls were absolutely difficult. This was why I had more male friends than female ones – less drama, less emotional stress. But then again – not everyone was as emotionally strong as the people I had come to know, like my brother, Ichigo, Renji, Hinamori-san, and the rest. I couldn't expect the same of Ginny or any of our classmates at Hogwarts.

Harry Potter's Point of View

It was over for Buckbeak – that's what I knew deep in my mind, despite my outwardly optimistic expression. There was no way they'd just execute the Hippogriff, right? Of course they could – Lucius Malfoy managed to get Dumbledore himself thrown out last year. Who's to say a _Hippogriff_ would defy him this time? Still, we had to see Hagrid. We simply had to see the gentle giant who'd practically been my first friend from the Wizarding World. Of course, we couldn't be seen, so we had to sneak in using my invisibility cloak. Hermione had been surprisingly supportive, bless her. She even went to get my invisibility cloak, which I had left behind elsewhere in the castle before going on one of my illicit trips to Hogsmeade using the secret knowledge contained in the Marauders' Map.

Soon, we reached the small, cosy cabin which Hagrid called home, and knocked.

"It's us! We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off!" I whisper-shouted at Hagrid. The giant gamekeeper opened the gate, silently, hurriedly. He wasn't happy to see us – after all, we weren't supposed to be out on the grounds at this time, and it was almost sunset too. But he lets us in. He's a wreck. He's not crying – instead, he looks weak, unable to do anything. I don't blame him. But then, I give a start – there's someone else in the room with us! It's the Asian man, the doctor, with bright orange hair – Ichigo Kurosaki. He too looks somewhat surprised to see us, but he casually raises a hand and says, "Yo!"

We respond hesitantly, and he barks out a laugh, "Don't worry! I may be a staff member, but I certainly don't have the authority to punish you."

We were slightly more at ease after that. As it turned out, Hagrid was one of the first wizards to meet Kurosaki – just like me. The meeting went very awkward, and Hermione was crying by the end, though she hid her face from Hagrid, so he wouldn't feel bad. But then, she found something amazing.

"Ron, I don't believe it – it's Scabbers!"

Ron's rat, gone missing for a while, was now back! He appeared in terrible shape, and seemed intent on escaping from Ron – which was odd. He shouldn't have any reason to run from his own master! But before we can calm him down, Hagrid noticed that the men were coming – to execute Buckbeak.

"Go! They mustn' find yeh here! Go, now! Ichigo – could you…?"

Kurosaki stood up and smoothed out his coat.

"Of course. I'll take them back to the castle," He sighed and patted Hagrid's arm, before beckoning us on, "Come on – you had an invisibility cloak, right? Use it."

"What about you?" Hermione asked.

"I'll be fine. I'm not a student, so I won't get in trouble," He said. We got under the cloak and followed him out. As he walked out, he happened to pass by Dumbledore and the rest. He stopped short and held out a hand in greeting, which Dumbledore returned. Mr. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, was there as well, and he nodded to acknowledge Kurosaki, while the executioner, Macnair, and the elderly committee member paid him no heed. Soon, we were a safe distance from the small party.

Suddenly, Ron stopped short.

"Ron! What's wrong?"

"It's Scabbers! He's trying to break free!"

I looked closely – he was right. The rat was struggling like crazy, determined to break out of Ron's grip. And then, we all realised why – there, in the darkness…it was Crookshanks! Hermione's cat had been the bane of Scabbers' existence this whole year, and the rat was rightfully afraid of the bowlegged cat. The sight of Crookshanks was enough to really send Scabbers into a frenzy – and he broke free of Ron's grip and right into the darkness, withy Crookshanks in hot pursuit. Kurosaki looked behind and shout-whispered, "What the hell's going on?"

"It's Scabbers! He just – " Ron immediately dropped the cloak and ran into the darkness.

"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat!" I heard him shout. Hermione shouted back, "Ron! Come back! Dumbledore and the Minister will be back soon! If they see us…!"

Luckily, Kurosaki reacted faster. As soon as he realised that Ron had run off, he ran after him. We followed suit. He suddenly shouted out.

"Something's coming! Careful!"

Just as I registered what the man had just said, something hurled itself at me and bowled me over. As I struggled to recover, I noticed that Hermione was also lying on the ground, trying to pull herself up. Kurosaki was a little ahead of us, and he seemed to be fighting with a big black dog…the same dog that kept reappearing in some form or another over the past year! I'd seen it when I escaped from Privet Drive, just before taking the Knight Bus, I'd seen it as the Grim in my teacup, I'd seen Crookshanks with it…Just what was that dog after?

The dog barks at Kurosaki, and then bounds for…_Ron_!

"Ron! Watch out, Ron!"

Too late! The dog grabbed Ron and pulled him away. As much as my friend struggled, it was no use. The dog was far too strong! I run after it; if I can catch up, I could possibly force the dog to give up Ron. But we're in danger, and I realise it too late: _The Whomping Willow!_ The same tree that had smashed my broomstick earlier this year. One of its branches came straight for me, knocking me in the chest. Hermione isn't spared either – I can see a cut on her shoulder. Kurosaki seems quite frustrated now.

"Cut it out – _already!_" He does the unthinkable: He reaches out with his hand and grabs the branch…and actually stops it! As Hermione and I stare on at him in disbelief (partially because he actually tried it, and partially because he actually _succeeded_). But then again, he only has one branch. The rest of the branches are still swinging wildly, aiming at us. We duck, to avoid most of the damage. But we still need to get inside! Ron might be in danger! But then, we're saved – by Crookshanks! The cat swiftly moves close to the tree trunk, where there's a small knot attached. He places his paws on it – and it stops! Kurosaki moves forward and says, "Potter! Take your wand out! I want you to cover our rear – make sure nobody attacks us from that end! Girl – you're in the middle. Follow me!"

No time to argue – we quickly do as he says, and move into the tree, where we saw Ron being taken into. There's a slope we slide down, and a tunnel that extends for some distance.

"Where the hell does this go?" Kurosaki wonders. I notice he's holding his wand with one hand, while the other hand's palm is pointed forward. That aside, I answer his question, "I'm not too sure, but I think it probably goes into Hogsmeade," He nods slightly and keeps going on.

Ichigo's Point of View

It was the dog! It was the same one! Maybe I could finally unravel this damned mystery that's been bugging me for these past few months. I hurry down this tunnel; the only thing keeping me from running in is that the kids are behind me. I can't let them get too far from me, after all. We edge closer to…the light at the end of the tunnel. I sigh at the cliché and enter the light…to find myself in what seems like a normal house, except it's very old and has fallen into disrepair. I'm completely disinterested in the house. Quietly, I check the floor I'm on – nobody here. No dog, no redhead. The girl whispers, "Upstairs!"

She's right. I hold my wand in one hand, and hold the other hand up, so I can fire off kido, if it's necessary. With that, I ascend the stairs. Luckily, the other two keep their formation, despite their worry. Soon, we're at a door.

I whisper, "Potter – kick it open!"

He does, and I run in. The two kids beat me to the inside and rush to their injured friend, who's on a bed.

"Don't come!" He moans.

"The dog! Where is it?" I ask, while assessing his injuries. His leg is badly broken and stuck at an odd angle. That'll take a while to fix.

"It was a trap! The dog – it's an animagus! He's there!"

I excitedly look at the corner, where the boy had pointed. But there was no dog – instead there was a man – a very gaunt man, tall and emaciated, and with yellow teeth. I almost laughed out loud – today was my lucky day! Sirius Black was here!

"Hey, where's the dog?" I asked, eager for the second part of the puzzle to be solved. But he ignores me and raises his wand.

"_Expelliarmus!_" To my shock, my wand flies out of my hand, as do the wands of Potter and the girl. They hurtle towards Sirius. He just disarmed us using magic! But luckily, I gather my wits fast enough. In an instant, I'm on him, one hand on his right wrist, and the other at his throat. He gasps loudly and coughs a little.

"Look, there's no need to be so hostile," It's a little ironic that I'm telling him that, even as my fingers constrict his throat. He chuckles sardonically – but then he manages to point his wand at me. A short burst of magic is directed at me, sending me staggering back.

He points his wand at us again and mutters, "Give me the rat, boy!"

"What's with the rat anyway? What'd you even want with Scabbers?" the redheaded boy shouts.

The rat is struggling desperately now.

"To commit the murder I was imprisoned for! Now give me the rat!" Sirius shouts, as he pushes towards the redhead. I push him back quickly – I have no interest in his crime. I only know what I need to do.

"Hey, look now! Calm down and hear me out!"

He looks surprised by this, enough to stop struggling and look at me.

"Hear you out? Why? Who the hell are you anyway?"

I'm as honest as I can. I tell him earnestly, "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki. You're in danger. Someone's looking for you and…"

I break off, realising how stupid that sounds. The wizarding authorities themselves are looking for him – saying that 'someone' is looking for him makes perfect sense to me, but to them, it's just stating the obvious.

"The only people looking for me are the Ministry of Magic!"

"And you fully deserve it!" Potter explodes, "You betrayed my parents!"

What? Sirius Black betrayed James and Lily Potter? That was the first I'd heard of it! I didn't even know they had been _betrayed_! I rounded on him, "Is that true?"

"Yes, it is!" Potter shouts, "He was their secret keeper! He betrayed their location to Voldemort!"

But then, Black loses it. He bellows, "NO I DIDN'T! It wasn't me!"

Potter lurches forward, rage in his eyes. He takes a swing at Black, shouting, "You dare tell such a bold-faced lie?"

The girl is terrified at this point, her eyes darting back and forth. The redhead, his name is Ron, I think, is still in great pain from his leg, but he's in full support of Potter, who's just managed to grab Black's wand. Ron looks furious at Sirius. But is he lying? I try to restrain Potter so I can get the answers I so badly want. But then, someone barges in. The stranger raises his wand and shouts, "_Expelliarmus!_"

Everyone who has a wand instantly loses it to the stranger…who's none other than Remus Lupin! I lower my fist, which had clenched almost by itself, ready to attack the newcomer. Lupin points his wand at Sirius, and demands, "Where is he, Sirius?"

"The boy's rat."

Lupin looks back and forth, with a bewildered expression. It's as though he's trying to make sense of the situation, although, to me, there's hardly anything to make sense of: Sirius Black has been captured for the crime he committed. But I hold my tongue; perhaps Lupin knows something I don't. He finally says, in disbelief, "You switched? Without my knowledge?"

Sirius nods grimly. Lupin shakes his head, heaving with emotion – and then goes over to Sirius and embraces him like a long-lost friend. The rest of us are dumbfounded. Hermione loses it.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"

"Calm down, Hermione!"

Harry goes next, "I trusted you! And all this time, you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong! I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now — Let me explain…" Lupin tries to calm them down. But on top of that, I also want my own answers – so I take control of the situation.

"Everyone SHUT UP!" I yell. Luckily, everyone follows my order and zips up.

"Good! Now then," I turn to Ron and ask, "You just said something about the dog, right?"

"Well…yeah. Sirius Black _is_ the dog! He's an animagus."

"Interesting. What's an animagus?" I ask.

The girl – Hermione, I think – rolls her eyes and explains, "An animagus is a wizard who's able to transform into a certain beast – "

She looks like she wants to continue, but I stop her. Black _was_ the dog! I approach him and say, "You've seen me before in the castle, haven't you?"

He growls, "Yes. And I would have killed Peter if you hadn't stopped me that time!"

"Peter? Who's that?"

Lupin starts to say something, but he's immediately cut off by Hermione, who's standing behind me now.

"Don't trust him! He's…He's a werewolf!"

I've seen a lot of surprising stuff, but _that_ takes the cake! My mind whirls as I try to remember: I saw the wolf on the night of the full moon. Later when I used my reiatsu detector, it was the night of the full moon when I noticed Lupin's reiatsu suddenly spike. The conclusion is simple: _Remus Lupin is the wolf. He's a werewolf, so he transforms at the night of the full moon. And the transformation gives him more reiatsu_.

Lupin is thrown by the statement, and struggles to respond. I shout out breathlessly, "You're…an _actual_ werewolf? For real?" He shakes his head somewhat shamefully. I yell, "That's…that's…AWESOME!"

Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy – but I'm on a roll.

"The wolf that night – it was you?"

"Yes, it was me, but – "

"Why didn't you say so?"

"Because I – " He rubs his temples and says, "Look, I'll tell you everything about that later, I promise. But first, there's something important I need to do. Ron, the rat, please."

"Why? What's Scabbers got to do with anything?"

Lupin edged closer, but then I was distracted. The reiatsu in the room just shifted somewhat…acting on my hunch, I say, "Everyone, quiet, just for a few seconds."

I move closer to the door, looking as casual as I can. Then, without warning, I punch the air next to the door. Just as I suspected, my fist doesn't hit the wall; it hits a solid, invisible body. Everyone gasps, as the cloak of invisibility falls off the hidden intruder, to reveal Severus Snape. He'd snuck in under the cloak, but his reiatsu had caught my attention.

Sirius shouts, "Snape?" and the Potions Professor levels an intense glare at him; but it's not very effective. He faints from the force of my punch, right to his gut.

"Black…" He mutters as he loses consciousness.

"Trying to hide from me? Nice try, idiot!" I snap victoriously. I turn to Lupin and say, "Do continue with that story of yours,"

He nods numbly and launches into a long epic story of his childhood at Hogwarts and how he knew James Potter and Sirius Black. Much of this was new to me; I hadn't heard that Sirius and James had actually been good friends. My research on Sirius really didn't run that deep. Here was a list of events as I understood it.

It was originally thought that Sirius Black was the secret keeper of the Potters (I had no idea what that meant, nor did I have the opportunity to ask) and he had betrayed them, and a man named Peter Pettigrew had tracked him down. But the truth was that Peter Pettigrew was the secret keeper, after Sirius switched with him _in secrecy_. That way, Sirius would be a decoy. But Pettigrew was actually working for Voldemort, and betrayed the Potters.

After that, Sirius tried tracking him down. Pettigrew was also apparently an Animagus – one that could transform into a rat (Lupin asserts that Ron's rat is actually Pettigrew!). He yelled out loud at Sirius for 'betraying James and Lily', and escaped after cutting off his own finger and turning into a rat. He also caused a massive explosion that killed quite a few people. So, it was assumed that Sirius had betrayed the Potters, and when Pettigrew confronted him, he blew up the street and killed Pettigrew.

Ron protests strongly. He doesn't believe that his rat is actually Peter. He makes up all sorts of excuses – Lupin says that his rat had lived too long for a regular rat ('We took good care of him!'), and then that he started losing weight after finding out that Sirius was on the run ('He's been scared of that mad cat!'). I cut in, "Isn't there a way to prove it? The rat's right there; try to force him to turn back or something!"

Lupin agrees, "Yes, that's exactly what we intend. Peter is the rat, Ron. Give him to me, and we'll prove it."

Ron hesitates, and Lupin coaxes, "If he's a real rat, it won't hurt him."

He shakily gives up the struggling rat, and I'm asked to hold it for them. Lupin and Sirius hold up their wands, "Together, Sirius! One – Two – Three!"

A blinding white light shoots from their wands and hits the rat. I drop it – it's suddenly too heavy to hold! It hits the floor with a 'thud' that would be more suited to a really heavy object falling, rather than a rat. Then, I realise the rat is changing – it's now a human being! It's a short man, who's cowering on the ground. He has messy hair and looks a mess, with watery eyes and dirty clothes.

"Long time no see, Peter!" Lupin snarls. Potter gapes at him, while Ron recoils and Hermione immediately hides behind me. The man denies everything, and even tries to greet Lupin and Sirius as old friends. I glare at him and snap, "You really did betray James and Lily, didn't you?"

"No! No no no! It was him!" He shouts wildly, pointing at Sirius.

Sirius jeers at him and levels all the accusations at him again – only to be met with crazed counter-accusations from Pettigrew. Then, Hermione asks a question, which is perfectly valid: "If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"

Pettigrew is grateful for the break, and goads Sirius to answer it. He almost looks like he thinks he's won. But Sirius has an answer ready, "I'll tell you why: You never did anything unless there was something in it for you! You didn't touch Harry because it would have exposed you, and you would have gained nothing since Voldemort was dead and couldn't protect you! That's why you left Harry alone!

I ask, "I've heard of Azkaban before – an island prison guarded by dementors that inflict severe psychological stress on their victims. How'd you escape, Houdini?" I challenge Sirius. He chuckles at the nickname I gave him and said, "Animals have less complex thoughts and emotions than humans, see, so when I transformed into a dog, the dementors affected me less and they were also unable to detect my presence. They're blind – they move about by sensing people's emotions. They were unable to detect me, so I slipped out and swam to shore. By right, I should have lost my mind during my long imprisonment, but the thought that I was innocent kept me going. It wasn't a happy thought – so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me. By the way, what's 'Psychological Stress'?"

I laugh at him and clap him on the shoulder. Sirius looks Potter in the eye and says, "Believe me, Harry. That is the truth: I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them.

Finally, the boy nods, and I break out in applause, with a grin. Pettigrew loses it (the third one to lose it today!). He pleads with Sirius (kicked), then with Lupin (rebuked) and with the kids. I won't let it happen; Standing between Pettigrew and them, I kick him away.

"You're pathetic! Get off!"

Finally, he breaks down and starts whining about the danger of defying Voldemort, that he had no choice but to cooperate with him. Lupin silences him, "You should have realised – if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would have,"

He raises his wand along with Sirius – obviously they want to kill him. They do a countdown again, but this time, Potter intervenes, "NO! You can't kill him!"

"Why, Harry? You heard it from his own mouth; he's the reason for James and Lily's – "

I interject, "Wait; he has a point. Sirius, you're a criminal. Killing him won't change that. But if we bring him up to the castle and show that he's still alive, we can get you cleared of all charges. A confession to Dumbledore should be enough. Hell, the Minister of Magic himself is at Hogwarts this evening! Go to him directly, by all means!"

The ghost of a smile flickers across Lupin and Sirius' faces, and they agree. Harry himself says, "He's right. He can go to Azkaban. If anyone deserves that place…it's him."

And that's decided! Lupin ties up Pettigrew using magic, while I check up on the injured. I recall my medical spells and point my wand at Ron's leg.

"_Ferula,_" Bandages and a splint appeared on his leg, tying them up tightly. Then, I went over to Snape and checked his vitals. Everything was alright. Lupin and I agree that it would be better to revive Snape later, so we use magic to transport his unconscious form instead. We go outside, and Sirius and Potter begin speaking. From what I overhear, Sirius is Potter's godfather, and he invited Potter to come and live with him, to which Potter enthusiastically agrees. Chuckling in amusement, I ask him, "Why'd you want so badly to leave…wherever it is you're staying now?"

Hermione and Ron groan, "The Dursleys are the worst! They're his aunt and uncle, and they treat him really badly!"

My smile slips. James and Lily were still alive – well, not alive, but you know what I mean – but their son was not in the best hands. I couldn't even tell them that James and Lily were alive, because their Agency forbade such contact between the living and dead. There's no telling what they would do to James and Lily if I told Potter they were still around. But then, something shakes me out of my thoughts. Lupin has stopped, and he's looking at the moon. He starts shaking.

"What the – Lupin! Are you seizing or something?"

Hermione breathes, "It's not a seizure…it's the full moon! He's turning!"

I quickly dart forward. The wolf gives off a little Hollow-like reiatsu, and even has killing intent. Maybe if I can urge him to strengthen his hold on his mind…! I grab him by his shoulders and slap his cheeks lightly to keep him conscious.

"Lupin! Don't lose your mind! Fight it! Strengthen your mind!" My urging proves meaningless, however. His body lengthens, and he develops a snout, much fur, and a tail. In the chaos, Pettigrew escapes. He grabs Lupin's wand, but is disarmed. But then, he transforms and runs off, as a rat. Damn it! While I was distracted, Lupin fully transformed, and takes a swipe at me. I'm hit across my chest, and grunt in pain, staggering back.

"_Bakudo #1: Sai!_" Instantly, the wolf's arms are locked behind its back. My spell only lasts a few seconds, though. It was done in haste, and it's weak. The wolf breaks free and runs straight at me, ready to bite.

"Like hell I'll let you!" I yell. I've seen enough zombie movies to know that if 'they' bite you, you become one of 'them'! I have enough problems with an inner Hollow; I definitely don't need bloody _lycanthropy_ as well! But wait…Inner Hollow? That's it! I snap my fingers in triumph. The wolf obeyed me that night due to the Hollow reiatsu controlling me. If I mask up, I can start releasing Hollow reiatsu and subdue it. I don't even need to exit my human body; all I need is to get out of sight of the rest. I slowly back off towards the forest, and the wolf is taken in. Luckily, the rest are forgotten by it. I break into a run, my coat fluttering behind me. Once we're out of sight, I facepalm and summon my mask over my face. Instantly, the wolf stops and starts whining softly…

I stay there for a while. Hopefully, Sirius and the others stay safe. Pettigrew escaped, though, Sirius would never get cleared at this rate. I punch the ground, causing the wolf to become somewhat scared – then, it starts howling loudly.

"Hey – what the hell's wrong?"

I look up – hundreds of dementors are flying in the direction from which I just came – in other words, right at the students I've left behind. Damn it all! I have to help the others! I turn to the wolf and roar at it loudly. It works – the wolf is scared by the outpouring of reiatsu and runs right into the forest. I unmask and run in the same direction as the dementors. Soon, I arrive at the lake. All the dementors are crowding around one area on the opposite side of the lake. It takes some mental effort to ward off the adverse effects of the foul things.

"Kurosaki! Over here, Kurosaki!" someone shouts. I look back – it's Potter! And Hermione! I sprint over to them.

"What the hell happened? Why are you here?"

Potter does not answer; he's transfixed, looking at the opposite side. Then, almost mechanically, he raises his wand and shouts, "_Expecto Patronum!_"

A bright white light emerges from his wand and straight to the dementors, scattering them immediately. The light illuminates the opposite shore – to reveal none other than Potter, Sirius and Hermione! Two Potters! Two Hermiones! One of each on each side of the lake! What the hell's going on? Hermione is smiling, but she also looks horrified. Potter reassures her, "Relax, Hermione! It wasn't my dad I saw across the lake; It was _me_!"

Finally, Hermione explains breathlessly, "We came back in time! Across the lake, that's our past selves! We fainted and were taken to the Hospital Wing. Sirius was arrested. But Dumbledore spoke to him and believed his story. He told me to go back in time to save Sirius _and_ Buckbeak!"

I then look closely behind them and notice the Hippogriff sitting on the floor, looking bored. Still, it's hard to wrap my mind around.

"Technically, we're not supposed to be seen by anyone, but I suppose you're fine, as long as you keep our secret," She looks pleadingly at me and I reply, "Don't worry; I won't tell anyone. Let's hurry. I need to see Sirius; it's urgent!"

They're surprised, but they don't resist. The three of us get on Buckbeak's back and fly off to the West Tower, where Sirius is apparently at. The rescue goes smoothly, and Sirius soon is flying off with Buckbeak. The end.

Or…not. Potter and Hermione have to go back to the Hospital Wing; something to do with the laws of time travel. Meanwhile, I stick around in the office where Sirius was kept, watching as the Hippogriff flies off. But then, a cold feeling overcomes me. There's some reiatsu, and its source is speeding right towards Sirius. I reach into my pocket, grab my soul candy and eat it.

"Kon, I need you to do something for me. Go to Rukia and Hinamori and get them to go with you down to the edge of the village – in Shinigami form. Tell them to grab their phones too. You come down with them too. Got that?"

Kon is slightly disoriented, "You're a cruel taskmaster!"

"I will be a cruel _punisher_ if you don't do what I ask of you! Got that?" I snarl. Luckily, he complies and runs off. I jump out of the window in my Shinigami form and jump across the sky to Sirius. Soon, I reach him and roughly settle down on the back of the hippogriff.

"Whoa! It's you! What the hell's with that sword?" he exclaims. So he can see spirits!

"Careful! Someone's coming to attack us! It's suicide to fight him in the air. Go down to Hogsmeade!"

Before he can comply, the source of reiatsu I identified earlier attacks us. It's a man with a bald head and who looks very muscular. He's wearing a simple white shirt with blue jeans and he's smoking a cigarette. He doesn't look like a Shinigami or a Hollow; rather, he just looks like a human with spiritual powers – that's why he's able to walk on air and see me, even though I'm a spirit. He flies towards me and tries punching me. I block him and end up with smoke in my face. We're both standing on Buckbeak's back. The hippogriff goes wild and throws all its riders off.

"Hey!" Sirius shouts, but luckily, I can use the air as a foothold – I grab him and sling him over my shoulder. The man gracefully rights himself in the air some distance away.

"Give me Sirius Black and I'll let you go!" He snarls.

"What, so you can bring him to Aizen? Not likely!" I yell back and attack. It's my sword against his fists - it's a very short and imbalanced fight, even with Sirius on my shoulder. I deal slight injuries to him and shout, "Where's Aizen? Where's your master hiding?"

He jeers, "You'll never find him, no matter how hard you look! It's impossible to recognise a soul fragment, after all!"

"What? What do you mean, soul fragment?" I demand. But it's too late. He grabs a small pill from his pocket and swallows it – must be a suicide pill. The next second, he loses his foothold and falls to the ground. It's a hell of a drop – no way could he have survived.

Sirius asks, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Hey, Sirius – we need to talk! I'm bringing you down to Hogsmeade. Just relax, ok!"

He complies and we soon touch down at the village outskirts, at the same place where I had met Nel and Starrk recently. Rukia and Hinamori are already waiting for me. Kon's standing some distance back, out of sight.

"We saw what happened earlier, Ichigo. Who was that man?" Rukia asks.

"He was working for Aizen, and was trying to take Sirius. He was weak, but killed himself with a poison pill before I could get any information out of him. The only thing he said was that Aizen was a soul fragment, or something like that."

"Soul fragment? I've never heard of those things." Hinamori muses. She then turns to Sirius and smiles gently, "Don't worry, Mr. Black, you're in safe hands now."

"Who was that man? What did he want with me?" Sirius asks. He looks shaken – rightfully so, after being on the shoulder of a guy who was floating in the air!

I answer, "He's part of a…an organisation. They want to form a link to Voldemort, so they want you."

"But I'm not working for Voldemort!"

"I know," I remind him gently, "But everyone thinks you do – and that puts you at danger. Come with us. We can protect you." I'm really looking forward to bringing him to 15 King's Road, where James and Lily are. I can hardly contain my excitement.

Sirius looks torn, then says, "I suppose I have no other choice. Fine! I'll go with you," He grins at me.

I grin back, then turn to Rukia and Hinamori, "Okay…I called you out here for your new orders: Go back to school and pretend you know nothing of what happened tonight. Say you don't know what happened to me, and let everyone come to their own conclusions. Look…I may or may not return to Hogwarts."

"What if you don't return? Are we to continue staying here?" Rukia asks.

"Hey, we have the summer break to think things over. The school term's nearly over anyway. I'll give you a call when we reach 15 King's Road."

"Alright. Take care, Ichigo!"

"You too!" I immediately flash-step over to Kon and enter my body, causing the soul pill to pop out. I catch it and put it into its container which I shove into my pocket. I then come out of the shadows to face Sirius. He looks shocked – to him, it looks as if I changed my clothes from my Shinigami garb to my T-shirt, jeans and lab coat in record time, since he can't differentiate between spirits and humans. I take my coat off and sigh, "Now we've got to find a way to get back – to London!"

He sighs as well, "And the hippogriff just flew off somewhere!"

We laugh at our fate and start walking along the road to Hogsmeade station. Perhaps we can want for a train or something…but then, we get a lucky break.

"Hey, Ichigo, look at that!"

"It's a car! It looks good! It looks fast! And it looks like it's smashed right into that tree over there! Very helpful, Sirius!" I bark sarcastically.

"Have you forgotten we're wizards?"

OHH. RIGHT. Cursing my stupidity, we run to the car and use magic to push it back, away from the tree. Sirius levitates it and brings it onto the road. It's in bad shape; with the windshield shattered and the front almost cut in half by the sturdy tree,

"_Reparo!_" The car repairs itself, but Sirius is dubious. He opens the hood and chuckles.

"Just as I thought! Take a look!" The outside of the car is perfectly fine now; even the windshield is intact. But the parts inside are still smashed. The radiator is leaking and the engine is a mangled hunk of metal.

"Y'know, before I got arrested, I was into motorcycles and stuff. I used to do the repairs myself. Something as beat up as this – you can't repair easily. You've got to take the components apart, repair them individually and then put them back inside."

It's tedious, but we eventually complete it.

"What about fuel?"

"Easy! I conjure it up! Conjured items only last for a short while before they disappear, but if it's fuel, there's no problem. We just use it up before it disappears, then refill it!"

I laugh wildly, "You could become a multimillionaire on conjured fuel!"

"Yeah! Gotta try it one day!" We settle down in the two front seats, after Sirius conjures up fuel into the tank.

"Ok…we're good to go – on a broken vehicle some rich idiot abandoned, and its tank filled with conjured up fuel. Let's go!" We laugh and take off. Using directions from my phone, I start the long drive back to London, after making a call to 15 King's Road to inform them of my success.

Many Hours Later

"So…what exactly are you? I saw you in the air earlier, with a sword at your hip, like some kind of Samurai." Sirius asks.

I start to explain, then decide against it, "I'll explain in due time. Trust me, it's easier to explain if you come to base first."

Of course, what I really mean is 'it's easier to explain if you first see your friends who've supposedly died 13 years ago!' But I don't say that out loud.

After a short while, we reach 15 King's Road.

"Here's our base. Come in."

He looks uncertain, but after all he's come through, any normal house would be better than Azkaban. He steps through.

"_SURPRISE!_" it's James and Lily, who are holding cans of beer (I can see a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice nearby!) and sitting on the couch. This was why I couldn't wait to bring Sirius back. The man was feeling guilty about James and Lily's death. This would surprise him alright!

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Padfoot!" roars James good-heartedly. Sirius looks at him in bewilderment, then turns to me. Then back to James. Then back to me.

And then he faints with a soft moan.

"Oh my God! Is he alright?" Renji shrills. I chuckle long and hard at the half-drunken man's reaction and say heartily, "Oh, don't worry. I'd expect nothing more or less from a man who's just been through a severe shock! _Accio smelling salts!_"

_To be continued_

Note that some parts of the confrontation between Sirius, Lupin, Ichigo and the Trio have been copied directly from _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_. This chapter was extremely difficult to write. I hate writing the parts which already happen in the books, like the scene where Lupin and Sirius give Harry the truth. Since this is a Fanstory, I skipped over some parts and summarised part of it.

Now, here's something interesting regarding Owl Post. I quote this directly from Tvtropes [dot] org:

"Given that most Wizards are capable of Apparanting [sic], posess [sic] cars such as the Knight Bus for those who can't, and posess [sic] the ability to carry large amounts of objects in a _Bag of Holding _[this refers to a bag like the one Hermione carried in _Deathly Hallows_ – small on the outside, massive inside], it often begs the question why they both [put up] with the mess of using Owls to deliver their mail. Theoretically _a single wizard_ could serve as the postman to the entire country."

And just after that, the site went on to say, "It's because the owls can find ANYONE. Hedwig could find Sirius wherever he was hiding. If the Aurors had been on their game, they could have just handed an owl a postcard addressed to Sirius and then just followed it."

How about that!

By the way, Tvtropes dot org is a website that gives information on book series, TV shows, movies, manga, etc, by pointing out the TV Tropes present in these series. For those who don't know what 'Tropes' are, they're certain literary devices, conventions and similar things that appear in those series: An example of a trope is 'Action Girl' which refers to the presence of a female character who happens to be a strong fighter/badass. In the _Harry Potter_ series, Hermione and Ginny are regarded as 'Action Girls', and Bleach follows this trope as well through characters like Nelliel or Yoruichi.


	9. Making New Plans

The Next Great Adventure

To reader238: You asked how Ichigo was able to sense Snape entering the Shrieking Shack under the invisibility cloak, even though the cloak was able to hide a person from death itself. **My answer:** That's a valid observation, but I disagree with the assumption that Ichigo is the same as 'Death' since he's a Shinigami. We've seen over and over in Bleach that Shinigami have no control over death itself. This is how I think of them: The Shinigami are like policemen who direct the traffic of souls and purify Hollows. But while normal policemen can control crime before it happens, the Shinigami have little control of the number of souls they have to deal with, as they have no control of the number of humans dying in any given time period.

But still, that doesn't fully answer your question, so let me propose this idea: 'Death' is a force that claims all humans at some point. When these humans die, their souls pop out of their bodies and are guided to the afterlife (the respective Soul Societies). And after living for a while in the afterlife, death claims them a second time, and their souls die. The Invisibility Cloak was made by the personification of Death (who is not a Shinigami) and hides people from death, extending their lifetimes. But it doesn't hide people from the senses of the policemen of death (those whom we refer to as Shinigami). And that's how Ichigo was able to sense Snape entering.

And now, onto Chapter 9!

Chapter 9: Making New Plans

Ichigo's Point of View

Sirius woke up with a start as soon as I shoved the smelling salts under his nose. He rubs his eyes and stares at James and Lily, who smile at him warmly.

"James…Lily…Am I dreaming?"

James helps him up and say, "Don't worry Padfoot, old friend, this is all real. For now, you'd better eat something."

"But – "

"Take a bath as well. You stink, Padfoot," Lily smirks. Her expression softens and she tells Sirius, "I know what you're thinking – we really did die all those years ago. We're here because…suffice it to say there's life after death, and two-way travel is possible between this world and the 'afterlife',"

"So…you died, went to heaven, and now you're back?" He gasps.

"Something like that. But never mind all that! You look famished. Eat!" James commands. Hisagi promptly goes into the kitchen and prepares a large meal for our escaped prisoner. I get him some multi-mineral tablets too – God knows what he's missed out on since his escape. Upon my request, Hisagi also gets him a bar of chocolate. It's been several hours since he faced the dementors, but I'm taking no chances with the starving, severely weakened Sirius.

A short time later, Sirius is sitting on the sofa, with a can of beer in his hand. By now, he's eaten and bathed, and is wearing clothes borrowed from Renji. James and Lily are now about to tell him their story. The rest of us were prepared to give them some privacy, but the husband and wife pair surprised us by asking the rest of us to be present as well. "No secrets within this team!" Lily said brightly as she used magic to conjure up more armchairs and for all of us.

James starts off by restating the facts that I'd heard from Sirius and Lupin earlier – about the spell (the Fidelius charm) that was used to hide the Potters' home and how Sirius Black was originally the secret keeper, but handed the responsibility over to Peter Pettigrew, the one who defected.

"Pettigrew betrayed us and Lord Voldemort came to kill us, having learned of our location. When we were killed, we…fell unconscious for a while. When we came to, we found our own bodies lying on the ground. We found that Harry was still alive, but with a lightning-shaped scar on his head. But, try as we might, Harry was unable to see or feel us. That was because we were mere spirits that night,"

As Sirius shakes his head and starts to ask a question, I hold up a hand and explain, "Within every body, there's a spirit. Upon death, the spirit is forced out of the body. James and Lily were in their spirit forms, so they could see their bodies lying on the ground. And Harry was unable to see them as only one in fifty-thousand people are able to see and feel spirits,"

He says, "Ohh," in understanding and asks us to continue. I chuckle at his attitude. Most people would never believe me, but after seeing James and Lily alive, Sirius is almost ready to believe anything. Lily says, "We hung back a while and Hagrid came along, as did you, Sirius,"

Sirius nods and says, "I remember it now; I came to the house just after Hagrid and lent him my bike. He brought the infant Harry to Dumbledore at that time. I left after a while to confront Peter Pettigrew. What happened to you both after that?" He realises something and asks urgently, "What about Harry? You haven't seen him yet, have you?"

James suddenly says, "No, Sirius! We can't go and see Harry."

"Why not?" He demands. It is a valid question for him, but James and Lily loved their son and I know it. If they _could_ have seen Harry before, they most certainly _would_ have.

Lily shakes her head. She's near tears now.

"There are laws governing us, who've died before. We're not allowed to interact with the living, except in special cases like this one. It was established thousands of years ago that what happens after death will be kept a secret from the living. It was judged that revealing the secret will simply cheapen life and death. People won't think twice about doing silly, dangerous things. 'So what? We'll just go to the afterlife', they'll reason. The significance of life itself will be diminished."

"But – but – Harry – " Sirius splutters. Toshiro sighs, "I know we all like to think of ourselves – or our close friends – as special cases. Potter's son was orphaned at infancy, but he's not the first, and neither will he be the last to experience such a fate. If you look at the big picture, why should they be given the chance to see their son, if so many others have been denied the chance, even if they've left behind orphans?"

James silently adds, "Besides, even if we were to flout those rules, there will be consequences. Harry's memory would be erased and we would be punished. There's an Agency, which we work for. The Agency's role is to guide spirits to the afterlife, and they lay down the rules in the afterlife. Under their rules, newcomers to the Agency are not allowed to go to this world for a certain time period, until their superiors have determined that they will follow the rules here."

I look at the young captain and silently thank him. It's a cruel thing to say, and I'm glad he took it upon himself to say it. I get the feeling Sirius wanted to shout at the young captain, but he sighs and buries his face in his hands.

"Y'know…he's staying at his aunt and uncle's place. He hates it there. I offered him a place to stay, and he accepted eagerly," he murmurs.

James lights up instantly, "You did?"

"Yes, but I guess that's impossible now," Sirius smiles bitterly, "We let Peter Pettigrew escape,"

"That's not your fault. Don't blame yourself for Peter's actions," James says, a hard edge to his voice. I'm forcibly reminded of the first time he performed magic before us – he had turned an empty coke can into a rat, and I got the impression he hated rats. It was only now that I understood why. I quickly changed the topic.

"Hey, Sirius, where'd you live?"

He looks surprised at my question, "12, Grimmauld Place." He comes to a sudden realisation and says, "That's it! It's nearby. I can still go back there! Of course, Harry won't be able to stay with me, but he can come and visit now and then,"

I sigh, "Hate to be a wet bucket, but since you're on the run, the Ministry is probably keeping a watch on your house,"

Lily sighs, "That's true. But…wait a second…" she taps her chin for a few seconds, then suddenly snaps her fingers, surprising everyone. With the air of one who's just had an epiphany, she says, "The Ministry _will_ be keeping a watch on 12 Grimmauld Place, but they won't take this duty seriously – they'll do it only for the sake of appearances. That means they'll probably have second-rate wizards keeping watch. Also, they'll want their best Aurors elsewhere in the country to search for Sirius. We could distract them, then sneak Sirius in. As for his supplies and all that, we can routinely bring in food for him. Hell, we could even start a rumour that he's somewhere far from here, and draw the ministry away. A simple police report is all it takes!"

"What about the ordinary humans around the place?" I ask. I hate using the word 'muggle', so I resort to the euphemism 'ordinary people' or 'ordinary humans'.

"Muggles? Don't worry about them. My family was old-fashioned – they placed charms on the house. The place is invisible to any muggle who walks past that area." Sirius says, "Truth be told, I really hate that place, but I can't be a burden on you guys any more." What the hell? He's been here for less than a day and he's talking about being a burden. Immediately, offers are made for him to stay at our place, but he firmly refuses.

I sigh, "Have it your way, Sirius. But I want you to stay here until you're completely healthy again. After that, we can think about bringing you back to 12 Grimmauld Place,"

Most of the Japanese members of the team leave after that. Only I'm left behind. James and Lily want to hear about the school year, and I want to hear about James and Lily's time in the British Agency. I check the time; it's past midnight. Looks like we won't get any sleep, at the rate we're swapping stories. Ah well, might as well get comfortable and get some drinks while we're at it.

"_Accio Green Tea!_"

The next day

_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_I have greatly enjoyed the past year working for Hogwarts, and learning the arts of medicine and healing from Madam Pomfrey. However, I regret to inform you that certain events have led to my being unable to continue my stint at Hogwarts. An old friend of mine, who needed help with a certain job, asked me to join his team and I could hardly find it in myself to refuse him. My new occupation involves travelling around regularly, and as such, it is impossible to stay in Hogwarts any longer._

_I hereby tender my resignation_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Ichigo Kurosaki_

Ichigo's Point of View

There. All done. I read it and it seemed very neat, and Renji laughed at me for my uncharacteristically formal language. But Toshiro, Rukia and Lily approved of it, and since they're the more level-headed ones here, I decided to send this mail to Dumbledore without any further editing. It was done the very next day after I had brought Sirius to 15 King's Road. Initially, I hadn't planned to resign, but after my discussion with Ichimaru Gin, I decided to change things slightly. I used the excuse that I'd done enough in Hogwarts and that there was no more benefit to me staying there. I felt bad keeping the news about Ichimaru from everyone, especially Rangiku-san and Kira, but I had to keep it a secret, or I might lose an important lead.

Hinamori and Rukia would continue their magical education in Hogwarts just as they had done the previous year. But the role of supervising them and taking care of the mission in Hogwarts would fall to a different person. After thinking about it a little, I had asked Renji to be the 'Hogwarts supervisor'. Of course, it would be suspicious to send him as a Hogwarts staff member – so he would have had to do something differently. As I was thinking about how to insert Renji into his setting, I got a reply from Dumbledore, and it gave me some much-needed inspiration.

_Dear Mr. Kurosaki,_

_Thank you for the letter you sent me previously. It is with deep regret that I accept your resignation. I have also heard of your role in the tumultuous events at Hogwarts a few days ago and I thank you for keeping our students safe. _

_While it's a sad reality of life that we often have to go where the winds take us, without being allowed control over our own fate, I would like to stress that Hogwarts will always extend a welcoming hand towards you. Even if you have not studied here, you did serve here for a full year and we gladly count you as one of our own. With that in mind, it is my pleasure to inform you that Hogwarts will be playing host to a legendary event, known as the Triwizard Tournament, this school year. As per the customs of this tournament, we will be having a ball this Christmas Eve. I would like to invite you to attend the _Yule Ball_, if time permits. You have made your mark on many of the staff and students here, and I'm sure you'll be well-received at Christmas._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_P.S. Special instructions have also been included for our students in preparation for the Triwizard Tournament, but we are not telling them anything specific, as we want this to be a surprise for them. I request that you keep this quiet from Ms Hinamori and Ms Kuchiki, so that the surprise isn't spoiled for them._

Along with the letter was attached a single white ticket with a golden bar on the side – it was the ticket for the Yule Ball. I grinned as I read the letter – now I understood why Hagrid respected Dumbledore so much. Triwizard Tournament, huh? I had never heard of it before, but it sounded like some kind of games event. Dumbledore called it 'legendary'.

There are two more letters in the envelope – I look inside and notice that they're for Hinamori and Rukia. Rukia's letter read

_PERMISSION for VISIT to HOGSMEADE for_

_Kuchiki Rukia_

_This document hereby serves to state the aforementioned_

_Third-year student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_is permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade at such a time_

_That the school arranges, and with the signature of the undersigned_

_parent or guardian._

_The student shall abide by all such rules & regulations relevant_

_to such expeditions and set by the school as per article 528/Z_

_of the 1714 Edict._

_Print Name..._

_Relation..._

_Signature..._

Hinamori's letter was identical, except it held her name instead of Rukia's. So Rukia and Hinamori are able to go to the village once in a while now – that could work to our favour. I walk over to Renji's room and knock on his door. He answers and sighs when he sees it's me.

"Oh, it's you. What'd you want?" He asks. His sourness at me is justified – I nominated him to be the new 'Hogwarts supervisor', which means he has to think of a way to infiltrate the castle. Renji's never liked doing that sort of work. I give him a disarming smile and say, "Come on now, don't be like that! I've got an idea for you."

"Yeah? Let's hear it, then." He says and plonks down on his bed while I take a seat on his chair.

"Next year, Hinamori and Rukia are starting Third Year in Hogwarts. Now, there's a village near Hogwarts, and students in third year and above are allowed to visit that village once in a while,"

"So?"

"You can go to the village and stay there, maybe even find a job. During their visits to the village, the girls can meet you and make their reports. And you can give them your new orders."

"That…doesn't sound too bad," He says dubiously.

"Besides, I know one of the Arrancar – he did something to my phone and after that, I was able to use it in Hogwarts. I can ask him to do the same for you guys so you can keep in touch."

"Well, alright! Nice idea, Ichigo. I'll do just that," Renji says. I've just made his work much easier. Renji's very street-smart, he should hear about the Triwizard Tournament soon enough, and he should be able to think of something to do about it. With the right combination of guts, brains and luck, he might even be able to get _into_ the castle now and then. Although I doubt it.

I show the consent forms to Hinamori and Rukia, and have them signed immediately. Toshiro is acting as Hinamori's guardian, so his signature goes onto her form. As for Rukia, her guardian is officially Byakuya, but the signature is actually Renji's – since he's her brother's deputy. At this point, it's the summer break for them, and they've already received their instructions for the new school year along with the list of the books and items they'll need – which is unusual as these come later on in the break, rather than at the beginning. Rukia stared at her list for a long time before handing it to me.

"I don't get it. What are 'dress robes'? We've been asked to buy those for this year," she said. I was stumped as well, and she decided to simply ask James and Lily. But I stop her.

"Actually, pass me that list. I'll go see James and Lily instead," I take the list from them and walk out, leaving them mystified by my unusual behaviour. I volunteered to do it myself because I guessed it had something to do with the Triwizard Tournament and the _Yule Ball_ mentioned by Dumbledore. It must have been something similar to the Formal Dinners we had every term at school, except they added a liberal dash of romance by calling it a 'ball' rather than a 'formal dinner'. Since the two girls were not to know about the tournament yet, I decided to ask James and Lily myself.

I knock on their door and enter when they call me in. James is lying on the bed wearing a T-shirt and sweat pants, while Lily is in shorts and a T-shirt. After all, it _is_ very warm. As they look at me expectantly, I close the door.

"Rukia and Hinamori just got their letter from Hogwarts with instructions for the new school year and with their book lists…and they were asked to bring dress robes as well. What are those?"

Lily looks surprised at my question, and answers, "Well, dress robes are simply formal clothing for wizards. It's like a dinner jacket*."

"Oh…just as I thought then: It's for a formal event, isn't it?"

"Yup," James says, "It's strange that a couple of third-years are being asked to bring dress robes, though. The only time dress robes are required at Hogwarts is for the Graduation Dinner** – that's for Seventh Year students after they finish their final exams, the N.E."

"Maybe not so strange, actually. Now then," I drop my voice to a whisper and say, "I have something else to say and I must ask you to keep this a secret from Rukia and Hinamori."

They're intrigued, and agree. I say, "Hogwarts is holding the Triwizard Tournament this year, and apparently there's a formal event called the Yule Ball during Christmas. That's why they need dress robes."

I didn't expect the sort of effect my words have on the pair of wizard-Shinigami. James practically threw himself off the bed, and Lily stood up. The former is gaping and pointing at me, struggling to say something. Lily's eyes are as wide as saucers and her mouth is hidden behind her hands.

"Are. You. SERIOUS?" James stutters, "The freaking _Triwizard Tournament_?"

"Yeah," I frown at him, "What is it, really? I can see it's some kind of competition, but I don't know many details…"

James plonks down on the bed again and sighs, "Lily, could you explain please, dear?"

Lily clears her throat and gathers her thoughts before saying, "There are numerous magic schools around the world, but some are more prestigious than others. In Europe, the three most important schools are Hogwarts, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (which is in France) and Durmstrang Institute (which is somewhere in Scandinavia). There was a longstanding tradition between these three schools that they would hold a competition among themselves – that's the Triwizard Tournament."

James pitches in, "Each school must submit a representative; that one will serve as the school's champion. The three champions will be given tasks to perform, and points will be given for each task. The winner will hold the Triwizard Cup until the next tournament."

"That's interesting. How're the champions selected? A panel of judges?"

"The Goblet of Fire," Lily murmurs, "It's a magical goblet which has the capability to size up a wizard's skill and personality just by consuming a piece of parchment with the wizard's name on it. In the days leading up to the selection of the champions, students from each school who wish to compete will write their names on parchment and feed it to the fire – the goblet will then choose who's the most worthy of each school to be the champion,"

My eyes widened – using a goblet of fire to choose? That's insanely amazing! James looks rather sulky. He says, "Winning the Triwizard cup was the highest glory any wizard could dream of. No, forget that – being chosen as the school's champion itself is a great thing. I wish it could have been held during my time, though,"

"What? It didn't take place during your school years?" I asked.

"Nope. The death toll was too high, so they stopped the tournament back in the 19th century. Or was it the 18th century? I don't know. But now, it seems they've reinstated it."

Lily says fretfully, "I hope they've improved safety standards now. Harry's at Hogwarts now; he could compete if he wants to, and I bet he will…"

James punches the air, "That's my son!"

"He'll do no such thing, James!" Lily yells, "He's already encountered far too much danger at Hogwarts!"

I hide a smile behind my hand – I had already heard from various students in Hogwarts about all the trouble Harry got into over the past two years, and I had recounted the stories to a worried-sick Lily and an over-the-moon James ('He's his father's son through and through!', they had both shouted, one despondently, the other triumphantly). The two immediately start an argument, and I take this as my cue to leave.

"Umm, well. Thanks, guys…" I say, but they're too busy arguing. Oh well.

A few days later

On what I expected to be a rather boring day, I went through a meeting with the last person I'd expected to see in London. The meeting was arranged by an anonymous message attached to a stone which had been thrown into my room some time ago. It said: _Please meet me at Machiavelli's at 5. My treat!_

Machiavelli's Café is the name of a café near 15 King's Road. The name was unusual, but it was unique; more importantly, the food and drinks were good, particularly their Italian coffee…

But wait! That's not the important bit! Who the hell threw the stone into my window? Some kind of secret admirer? Damn it all, this is new to me. Girls usually stayed away from me because of my scary appearance. Council made me better, but I was still by no means a 'lady killer'. No, no, Ichigo! Calm down! It may not even be a woman. This sort of prank sounds right up Urahara Kisuke's alley, except he would do something much more dramatic than a stone through the window…that's it! It must be Urahara! Only he would arrange to meet in a place with a name like _Machiavelli's_! Right?

Except it can't possibly be Urahara. He called me last night from his shop and we had a chat about how things were going in Karakura Town. There's no way he could have come to England by this time if he was still in Japan – the flight takes too long for that. It's most likely someone else. I sigh, and check the time – It's 4.45 pm now. I quickly change into more presentable clothes – Black jeans, a white T-shirt, and a black hoodie with my sneakers. Machiavelli's is nearby; it shouldn't take too long to get there.

Just as my watch reads 1700, I step into the café and look around for who it may be. The café is crowded today, and I only spot one available table. As I continue scanning the crowd, a hand is placed on my shoulder. I'd been expecting the person to do that, so I turn around calmly.

It takes a lot of self-control not to shout out when I see who it is. White hair, eyes reduced to slits, a creepy smile – it's none other than Ichimaru Gin, the fox-faced ex-captain of the Third Division, and Aizen's co-conspirator. He's wearing an expensive-looking grey suit with a red shirt and a bright yellow tie. As I gape at him, he opens his eyes somewhat, revealing turquoise orbs and his smile widens.

"Glad you could make it, Ichigo-kun!"

"Well, imagine that. Meeting a man of Machiavellian character in a café named Machiavelli's," I murmur.

"Me – Machiavellian? That hurts!" He says, pretending to be hurt by my comments. When that fails to elicit a response from me, he puts his arm around my shoulder and leads me to a table, and calls a waitress over.

"Caramel macchiato for me! Place your order, Ichigo-kun,"

"Hazelnut frappe. With whipped cream, please," I say tonelessly. If this had happened two years ago, I wouldn't even have sat down with Ichimaru. But I was more patient now, more willing to hear him out for now. As we wait for our drinks, I ask, "I heard about your departure from Soul Society – our soul society. Who's your employer now?"

In response, he reaches into his pocket and hands me a card. It has his photo on it and says

_Gin Ichimaru_

_Lieutenant of the Third Company_

_British Agency for the Protection of Spirits_

"So _they_ hired you. That's odd; James and Lily never said anything about a Japanese lieutenant among their ranks,"

"That's because my promotion to lieutenant was very recent. I started off as an unranked soldier, but rose through the ranks quickly. James and Lily didn't know me at all at the time they came to the real world to meet you guys. That's why they didn't mention me,"

He then says, "This is almost surreal. If it'd been two years back, you'd have attacked me already."

"I know."

"So, why haven't you?"

"Because…" I struggle for an answer. He was an enemy, and a crony of Aizen. "I don't really know,"

Our drinks arrive.

"So, why'd you call me out here? Was it simply to let us know you work for the Agency now?"

"That's part of the reason…" He cocks his head in his usual annoying manner.

"Why me? It would've been better to tell Toshiro,"

"Whoa, whoa. Tell the kid captain? I don't have a death wish!" He chuckles. "He hates me, remember. He still thinks I was the one who wrote that letter framing him,"

When I look confused, he explains, "Aizen wrote a letter framing Toshiro-kun for a crime and left it for his lieutenant to find. Hinamori-kun hit the roof when she found it and actually fought Toshiro-kun. He holds me responsible for that,"

"Ok. So Toshiro's out. But why not Kira or Rangiku-san? They were on much better terms with you than anyone else in our team."

He actually looks halfway rueful when he replies, "Nope. Those two would be too easily manipulated by me, and everyone knows it. If I'd met with them, everyone else would probably think that I hoodwinked them. Their word would count for nothing after that."

I raised my eyebrow at this man's reasoning. He continued, "I asked to see you, rather than anyone else, because I get the feeling that only you aren't blinded by any previous prejudices. You won't be overly-favourable like Izuru, or Rangiku. And, you won't needlessly hate me like Toshiro-kun or even like Kuchiki Rukia. Remember what you told me when we fought in the fake town?"

How could I forget? I said, "There was no…_feeling_ in your blade. I couldn't tell at all what was in your heart when we fought."

"Precisely. Now, then, I want you to listen to my story, and make of it what you will. Do whatever you want later." He drops his smile and actually opens his eyes as he speaks.

"I found out about Aizen's return about a few weeks before the Shinigami top brass did. I also found out through my sources that he was in Britain, so I sent the Agency my _résumé_. They couldn't hire me right away; I had to go for a rigorous set of interviews to determine if I could be trusted. But finally, they let me join their organisation."

"Why?" I asked carefully.

He gives me a sideways look and says, "Isn't it obvious? I came to Britain, where I knew Aizen was, because I wanted to finish the job which _I_ started. Aizen was masquerading as a loyal Shinigami since more than 110 years ago. There's no way I was the first to know that he was actually evil, but I'm pretty sure I was the first to work against him. Even Urahara Kisuke and his people realised the truth only after I did. It's only right that I should take part in the mission to kill Aizen once and for all," He looks deadly serious as he says this. I understand now.

"But why come to Britain? You could have alerted the Gotei-13 once you found out, and you could have helped them out,"

"No, you don't understand. I was Aizen's partner – even if I was working against him the whole time. There's no way the Gotei-13 will trust me to work on such a mission," he chuckles bitterly, "I doubt they'd even have told me the news that Aizen was back. They probably thought that I would go to rejoin my old master as soon as an opportunity arose."

I almost feel pity for him. His bitterness was justified. He'd been working against Aizen long before the Gotei-13 even realised the bastard's duplicity. But now, Soul Society's greatest double spy was being treated with utmost contempt and distrust. And, I could hardly bring myself to hate the guy, because I had nothing personal against him. He hadn't hurt any of my friends, except for Jidanbo. And I knew he was deliberately holding back that time.

Ichimaru continues, "The British Agency knows about my past with Aizen, but they're more lenient than the Gotei-13. They let me work on the case. I never met with the team sent from Japan, but I've been in the real world and in Soul Society doing much research. That brings me to the other reason why I came here to find you."

I stare at him, confused. He says, "The last time, I went it alone – it took me 100 years, and at the end, I had little to show for all my hard work. I barely scratched Aizen, and I almost died. The most I was able to do was to buy a little time for you and your friends. I would have been better off simply staying among the Gotei-13 and using all the information I had gathered about Aizen to improve the war effort. If I had stayed behind, everyone would have known how to counter his Absolute Hypnosis, and Aizen would have been robbed of his biggest advantage."

I chuckle, "What's the point of that? If you stayed behind, Aizen would have known that everyone knew about his secret. Then he would have taken measures to prevent us from pressing the advantage. Besides, he knew you were working against him, right? Tatsuki and the others told me of the exchange between you and him. I remember he told you that he had deliberately let you tag along, wondering how you would betray him,"

He snorts, "That's rubbish! He didn't know a thing. Aizen loves mind games; he loves to make people think he knows everything when he really doesn't. What he said about me was false, and I bet he was also lying when he claimed that your entire life and the actions you took were the result of his manipulations. But the point is, I can't afford to do everything on my own. You're competent, and so are the other members of your team."

"Hold on, you want to work with us? You want to join us or something?"

He says quickly, "Well, not really _join_; nobody would accept me except perhaps Izuru and Rangiku. But, I'd like to work alongside you guys. I have some information that might help you guys."

I start thinking about it. The Japanese Soul Society is filled with men of extreme pride, who often refuse to accept help from others, and refuse to give help to others. Sad to say, I often display the same behaviour. Teamwork is terribly lacking because nobody's interested in it – even if they try it, they usually fail at it. Everyone only wants to fight their own individual battles to prove themselves as strong Shinigami. But here was Ichimaru Gin, unabashedly asking to be a part of our fight. He had information, he was a master at covert operations, and he was also an ex-captain. He would be an asset, looking at it from an objective point of view. But I couldn't let him join us. There were too many on our team who would refuse to let him work with us – once again, pride will be given priority over pragmatism and past grudges will blind us to the increased possibility of future success. I sigh and start to say something, but I'm unable to find a good starting place, and end up simply shaking my head. He sighs as well, with a sombre smile and says, "Don't worry. I can roughly tell what you're thinking. Something along the lines of 'I don't mind having you on the team but nobody else will accept it', right?"

I nod sadly. He takes a long sip of his macchiato and says, "We all know beyond a shadow of doubt that you killed Aizen. You stabbed his heart, and made sure that it didn't beat for three minutes. That way, you made sure that Aizen suffered brain damage before he could regenerate,"

It was true. There's a high risk of brain damage if the heart stops for about three minutes, so I stabbed his heart and prevented it from beating for those vital three minutes, hoping that brain damage would stop his instant regeneration. It worked, and Aizen was killed once and for all – or so I thought. Ichimaru continues, "Aizen's death was confirmed by Urahara and by the other Shinigami who'd felt his reiatsu vanish. So, Aizen's dead – Confirmed. Right?"

"Yeah," I say tentatively.

"But when I came to Britain, one of the first things I noticed was that there were plenty of wizards – who practised their art openly. In Japan, there are just as many wizards, but they keep their secret even in death. Now, this is relevant, because with magic, everything changes. There is a lot of knowledge that wizards have – knowledge that Shinigami have no access to – even if coming back from the death is absolutely impossible according to our knowledge, it may not be impossible if you look at it through the eyes of a wizard. So, I looked for as many wizards as I could within the Agency and among the civilians in the Soul Society,"

"Civilians? You mean like the citizens of Rukongai in the Japanese Soul Society?"

"That's right. The British Soul Society is very different from its Japanese counterpart. There is a strict segregation between the Gotei-13 and the civvies in Japan, but no such barriers exist in Britain, so I could easily find wizards and talk to them. I asked them if they had ever heard of people coming back to life from the dead through some magical means."

I leaned in, interested, "What'd you find?"

"Absolutely nothing," he smirks at my crestfallen expression and continues, "Well, don't be so discouraged. I did find something, except it's a very thin lead and we've got to research more."

"Tell me,"

"I once approached a very old wizard and asked him about continuing to live even after one has died. He claimed that he knew nothing, but before that, he let slip one word: _Horcrux_,"

"Before you ask, I have no idea what the word means," He downs his macchiato and continues reflectively, "But I imagine it's among the worst sort of monstrosity known to wizards. At first, I asked people if they knew of wizards who had survived death, and they said that it was impossible. They didn't seem to be lying. But afterwards, I started using the word _horcrux_ in my interviews with them. Nobody said they knew what it was. Most were telling the truth. But there were a few who were lying to me. They claimed ignorance, but I knew they were hiding the truth."

"Monstrosity, you say," I murmured, "Was it so horrifying that they couldn't bear to speak of it to others?"

"That's what I felt. If my intuition is right, they had nothing to gain personally from keeping the truth from me. I think they had been trying to protect something. Either they were trying to protect the Horcrux from me…or they were trying to protect _me_ from _it_," He has become very solemn at this point. He's not even smiling any more, and his eyes are open. But suddenly, his expression changes and he looks steely.

"But that's no good. I need to find out more. When you've eliminated the impossible, what remains, however improbable, _must_ be the truth,"

"Good old Sherlock!" I grin, in spite of myself.

The ghost of a smile flits across his face and he says, "Research is needed. Right now, I can only think of two places which could possibly hold the information we need: The Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts. We should be able to sneak in if we go as spirits."

"Well, alright then. I'll go with you to do the research. I'm not saying I trust you completely, though," I warn him.

"I'd hardly expect anything else," He says, unperturbed. We smile crookedly and shake hands. It's a very weird feeling, but I think I can trust him, at the very least, not to stab me in the back. I remember seeing him before my final fight with Aizen, in the arms of the weeping Rangiku-san, and I remember he no longer looked evasive or creepy. He actually looked human. Perhaps this odd partnership would work out well in the end.

_To be continued_

*A Dinner Jacket is what most people refer to as a Tuxedo.

**The Graduation Dinner is something I made up. I don't know if Hogwarts really holds such events for its graduating students.


	10. Say It With Flowers

The Next Great Adventure

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Valentine's Day Special: Say it with Flowers

"We're getting a new member for the team? Are you serious?" Matsumoto Rangiku asked in surprise. Renji, Shuhei, James and I immediately looked up from our game of Bridge, while Rukia, Mihane and Hinamori abandoned their conversation, and Ikkaku stopped polishing his sword. Toshiro, with whom Rangiku-san had been walking, glared at her.

"Yes, Matsumoto, I _am_ serious," He replied. You don't say? When are you _not_ serious? He continues, "As you just heard, we're getting a new member for this team."

Immediately, a barrage of questions came his way.

"Who is it?"

"Guy or girl?"

"Is s/he hot?"

"Is he strong?"

"Is she beautiful?"

"SHUT UP!" he yelled and everyone quieted down, "I don't know myself. The Commander didn't say who it was – just said someone was coming. That's all. I know it's frustrating, but even I've been kept in the dark, so don't complain!"

Put off by the uncertainty, we sourly returned to what we were doing. Still, I reflected, this was going to be good. The current team was good, but having a fresh face would be interesting. Hopefully it wouldn't be one of those overly polite, 'I'm-so-sorry-for-getting-in-your-way' kind like Hanataro (or Inoue). I have nothing against those people; they're just…distant and difficult to interact with, sometimes. At that point, James suggests, "Why not have a party for the newcomer?"

There are mixed reactions all around – Rukia, Renji and Toshiro (the boring ones) frown, while the rest (the awesome ones!) smile in approval.

"That sounds great! When's the newbie coming, sir?" Shuhei asks Toshiro. Somewhat sourly, Toshiro replies, "A week from now,"

"Perfect! Hey – since we missed Valentine's Day, why not celebrate it now?" I say, giving a high-five to James, who had apparently thought the same thing. I wasn't what you might call a party animal, but I certainly enjoyed gatherings once in a while. And since it was boring nowadays, with just learning magic, Hollow-hunting and the endless sessions of Bridge to pass the time, a party was _definitely_ in order.

Toshiro shook his head, "You don't know if we'll even be free that day – "

"Of course we'll be free! We have to be – how else are we gonna receive the newbie?" I argue.

He tries his next argument, "A party's just going to be a waste of time!"

"No, it won't! A party once in a while does wonders for morale. Right, guys?" Luckily, everyone supports me on this, with resounding cheers from Shuhei, James and Rangiku. We laugh stupidly as Toshiro growls and clenches his fists before surrendering.

"Fine! But no alcoholic drinks!" Everyone groans.

"Ok! _Some_ alcoholic drinks! Not too much," He gives.

Best. Captain. Ever!

Besides, even though the idea is weird (Valentine's Day in June!), everyone wants to celebrate. After all, Rukia, Hinamori and I had just returned from Hogwarts after successfully breaking out Sirius – which was our first major victory in this covert war, given that Aizen wanted to capture him and we had prevented it.

"Celebrating V-day now sounds kinda strange, but I guess it's fine. But how should we do it? Like a secret Santa, except each guy is matched with a girl?" Shuhei asked.

Lily disagrees, "Nah, we have –" she does a quick head count, "– almost twice as many guys as girls!"

"Alright then…that's out. Then what?"

"Maybe we'll just do it the Japanese way? Valentine's Day and then White Day?" Rukia asked. James and Lily looked confused, so she hastily explained, "Basically, girls buy gifts like chocolate for guys on Feb 14th, and guys return the favour one month later on White Day,"

I shook my head, "Nope. That'll put the girls at a disadvantage – they'll have to buy gifts for 8 guys while we only have five girls."

Rukia looked stunned, and then put on a sly expression, "Ohh? How nice of you to point that out, Mr. Always-Thinking-Of-Others!"

I grinned back and said, "That's my name, don't wear it out. Besides this is June – it's hardly the time for a Valentine's Day party. What's the point in following tradition for an _'anything goes'_ event like this?"

Everyone agreed. The gift-giving was to be entirely optional and to be done of one's own free will – it was more meaningful this way than to simply give gifts because of some silly tradition or obligation. I _had_ to get gifts for Rukia since I knew her so well…and because I like her. Yeah. And I think she's got her eyes on me too, if her behaviour recently is any indication. Hinamori would get a gift too, since I'd worked closely with her for the past few months. Rangiku-san too, I guess – after all, she fought alongside me in Karakura Town as part of Toshiro's Advance Squad all those years ago. As for Lily and Shirogane…well, I didn't know them _that_ well just yet because I spent the last few months at Hogwarts, where I had no chance to talk to them and get to know them better. But whatever, I'll get them something anyway. They're teammates now. Besides, I bet everyone'll get gifts for all the members of the opposite sex just so they don't look bad in front of them.

"We've got to invite Sirius!" James shouts, much to everyone's agreement – we all love the funny, charming and witty Sirius Black.

Then, Kira raises a question, "What about the newcomer? Since it's also a welcoming party for him we should do something special for him, right? Or _her_, if it's a woman,"

"That's true," Yumichika agrees, "How about we chip in money for a gift for him/her? There are many gifts that can be given to both men and women – like a box of chocolates, or a bottle of wine, or something of the sort,"

"Good idea! Let's do that." Renji agrees, "Now, all we need is to get food and drinks and perhaps some games."

"Leave the food to me!" says Shuhei, the ever-reliable cook.

"I'll get the drinks!" Rangiku sings happily. No surprises there!

"I'll deal with the games," Rukia and I say together – by coincidence. We stare at each other in surprise.

"Both of you can get the games," Toshiro orders us, "At least you'll be responsible in choosing _suitable_ entertainment." We shrug. No problem, sir!

Days pass by…

4 more days!

I put on my favourite jeans and T-shirt with my black jacket – it's time to go shopping! I take the car that Sirius and I had found some time back – after we returned, James had handed the car over to the Agency, and they had returned it to us barely a day later with extensive repairs that fixed the car better than the stop-gap magical repairs Sirius and I had performed. I open the Maps application on my phone and look for good shopping places. Since I've been in Hogwarts most of the time, I haven't got the chance to explore London, or even Chelsea for that matter. There's a shopping mall nearby – I head straight for it while thinking about what I could buy. I was already drawing a salary from the Gotei-13, and it was pretty good money, so the budget wasn't particularly an issue. I can afford to splurge just this once.

I walk into the _King's Walk Shopping Mall_ and look around. The people here are friendly, and shopping is a breeze. There's a small shop dedicated to chocolate – it's heaven for a chocolate aficionado like me. Rukia also likes the stuff, but our Soul Society doesn't exactly have a flourishing chocolate industry – so she has to make do with limited variety and less-than-fantastic tasting bars of chocolate. Something like this would count as a big treat. I look through the shelves and settle on a box of fancily-decorated chocolates, 80% cocoa and filled with brandy. It's pretty pricey, but completely worth it.

Next, I go to a shop that sells wine and pick out an excellent Pinot Noir. I'm not exactly a wine expert, but the shopkeeper is helpful and assures me that it's a good vintage. To get a second opinion, I decide to call up my dad.

"ICHIGO! How're you doing, son?"

"Hey dad! Shut up and listen! I'm buying a bottle of wine for a friend! It's Pinot Noir, 2008…" I read out the details for him and he actually quietens down to listen.

"Hmmm," I can practically see him scratching his lousy excuse of a beard thousands of miles away, while mulling it over in his head. He finally says, "It ought to be a good gift, Ichigo. It seems good quality…Pinot Noir is great. I think – I think it's fine." He launches into a long-winded talk on how to choose good wines and after the first five seconds, I've had enough.

"Right, right. Thanks for the advice!" I say after taking a deep breath. But then, he becomes annoying again.

"What's going on, though? Why're you buying wine all of a sudden?"

"We weren't able to celebrate Valentine's Day on the 14th of Feb like normal people, so we decided to have a V-Day party in June instead. I know, it's a silly idea, but who cares? It's fun! Besides, it's also a welcoming party for a newcomer to the team. I bought the wine for a – "

He cuts me off, "What? Who's the lucky girl, Ichigo?"

"Hey, shut up, you perverted old man! This one's for a friend!"

"It's Rukia, isn't it? It's gotta be her!"

"No, it's actually for Rangiku-san, but – "

"Ohh! For Rangiku-san?" I hear footsteps, then, from a distance, I hear him yell, "MASAKI! OUR SON HAS BECOME A MAN!"

Riiiiiight. He's talking to the massive poster of mom again. I end the call. Rangiku-san usually drinks sake, but I think that's simply because of a lack of alternatives in Soul Society – I doubt she'll refuse to drink wine.

Moving on, I go to the bookstore. Lily's very organised and keeps a small notepad in which she keeps notes and memos. I buy her a very nicely-decorated A5 sized notebook with a leather cover. She won't be able to carry it around, but she can keep it at her desk and take notes when she needs to, or she can just use it as a journal. I have all my items wrapped carefully, then place it in the boot of the car. Of course, I haven't forgotten Hinamori and Shirogane – I've decided to buy them magical gifts instead. Shirogane would probably appreciate it more, since she's not had much exposure to the wizarding world. I drive over to The Leaky Cauldron and park my car outside. I enter the pub, greet the landlord Tom and enter Diagon Alley.

The London Wizarding hub is a bright splash of colour, and looks amazing as usual. I walk through the streets, thinking about what to get. Maybe a spellbook would be good. I go to the bookshop, Flourish and Blotts, and look for an interesting book. I settle on a book of interesting household and office spells – stuff that allows you to organise stuff easily, tidy up your room, that sort of stuff. I bet it'll help greatly at the Fifth Division Barracks. Of course, there's a law that underage wizards are not allowed to use magic outside school, except in special circumstances. There's even a spell placed on underage wizards that will alert the Ministry of Magic – it's called _The Trace_. However, we don't need to worry about that: Hinamori is officially underage, but her actual age renders the Trace useless. So she and Rukia can use magic all they want without being caught by the authorities.

Finally, for Shirogane…what should I get her? There's little I know about her, except that her father owns the shop where Renji buys his sunglasses from. She also wears glasses. Hmmm…perhaps a gift of glasses would be good? I walk into another store that sells glasses. Its name is Macpherson Optics and the shopkeeper is an attractive young woman who's wearing heart-shaped glasses with clear pink lenses.

"Good afternoon, sir!" She trills brightly with a peculiar accent (Scottish, I think), "looking for new glasses for yourself?"

"No, not for myself – for a friend," As I say this, I realise that I lack the crucial information – I don't know the degree of Shirogane's glasses.

The shopkeeper continued as if nothing was wrong, "A gift, sir? How lovely! What sort of designs are you looking for?"

I quickly stop her, "Umm, sorry; this is kinda embarrassing but I don't know her degree…"

She gapes at me, and then laughs out loud, "Oh, don't worry about that, sir! Our glasses are magical – they adjust automatically based on their wearer!"

That throws me for a loop. It auto-focuses! What else does it do? The girl giggles at my question and answers, "We have special designs that change colour. Look at my lenses,"

I look sceptically at her glasses – they've changed colour! Where her lenses used to be bright pink they're now green. She taps her glasses once, on the side, and they change to black, just like ordinary sunglasses."

"Wow! Tap the sides and they change colours? That's amazing!" I gasp. I'm really in awe. Ordinary humans have done pretty much the same thing with photochromic lenses, but this is really something else. The girl happily blabs on, "We can customise your lenses on the spot. The basic lens comes with the auto-focus capability – those cost 5 Galleons for two lenses. You can add colours, like red, green, or black, and these cost 5 Sickles each. We also have many frame designs – you can take a look at them on the shelf there,"

My head spinning with the awesomeness of it all, I go over to inspect the frames. Shirogane's usual glasses have a thin metal frame and big lenses…so I settle on tough, but thin black frame with rectangular lenses – they have the same sort of …'adorable nerd' impression, for want of a better descriptive phrase. She doesn't seem the type to wear fancy green or red lenses, so I choose just a black colour (it even blocks UV light, the shopkeeper boasts. As for me, I'm just surprised wizards even know what UV light is) – so in essence, I'm buying her custom-made sunglasses. Buying her 'custom-made sunglasses' at least sounds a hell of a lot less weird than buying her actual glasses. After all, who gives freaking _prescription spectacles_ to a girl as a gift? It's like giving antibiotics as a gift to a person suffering a bacterial infection. Sunglasses are way better.

The girl takes about five minutes to fix the lenses onto the frame I chose and to cast the appropriate spells on them. She does the latter part in a soundproof door, winking at me and saying 'Trade Secret!' as she steps inside. When she comes out, the glasses are ready. She quickly runs through how to use them: Tap once on the right side of the frame to auto-focus. There are three shades of black: A light shade for moderately sunny weather, a midway shade for bright weather, and a so-called 'hardcore mode' for desert explorers and poker players. The wearer has to tap on the left frame to toggle between them. I have them placed in a shiny chrome case, which is then wrapped nicely. I thank the bubbly shopkeeper and walk out.

Whew! Everything cost a pretty penny, but I have no doubt everyone else will put in as much time and effort into their presents as I have. The rest of the team members may not seem like rich guys/girls based on their appearances, but they are definitely paid well, given that lieutenants are second in authority only to the captains. And since they're Asian, they surely have a propensity to save more than to consume – so they should have enough savings to buy good gifts. Of course, that's a stereotype, but it _is_ a very reliable stereotype.

Either way, I've got all my presents. I drive back home and place my items in appropriate storage until the day of the party.

One more day!

Today, I'd decided to go out once more. I'd decided that I had to buy flowers as well, and today would be the best time – if I'd bought them earlier, they might have wilted before the day of the party. I'd left home at about 11, but I'd yet to find any decent flower shops. It was now 1230, and I'd not had any breakfast. Time for lunch, then! I start driving along. As I leave the more crowded area of London, I notice two cyclists behind me. London has a great cycle hire system which allows people to rent a bicycle from docking stations and make payment via credit cards. Then, I start to feel some familiar reiatsu. Who was that? It's too distant and faint; I can't tell who it is. Well, never mind. I'll look into it later. For now, I need to eat. By this time, the cyclists have nearly caught up to me. I'm surprised at how fast they're going, but it doesn't bother me. But they're acting suspicious – they were cycling together, but now they've split and are on either side of me. And then, suddenly, one of them taps on my window, startling me and causing me to almost lose control of the car.

What the hell? The guy who tapped on my window from his cycle is none other than…_Ishida Uryu_! And the one on the other side…it's _Tatsuki_! I hastily pull over and step out.

"Hello Kurosaki," drawls Ishida, "It's absolutely not a pleasure seeing you."

Tatsuki is much kinder, "It's been too long, Ichigo! How've you been?" with a hug.

"You guys!" I'm stunned at their sudden appearance, "How come you're here?"

"What, can't we be here on holiday?" huffs Tatsuki.

"Ohh. Holiday, huh? Who else is here?" I ask.

"We came along with Natsui Mahana, Kunieda Ryo and Momohara Tetsuo. Those three went off shopping. We decided to go and explore the city on bikes. Hey, let's go for lunch somewhere." Tatsuki replies. Looks like today wasn't such a bad day, after all. I hadn't managed to get the flowers, but now I'm meeting two of my closest friends (Yes, Ishida, that includes you as well, you ungrateful bastard) as well. I suggest, "I heard from some friends of mine that there's a great seafood restaurant near here. Shall we?"

They agree, and we decide to catch up over some fresh Mediterranean seafood, Greek herbs and fiercely chilled white wine. I had left Japan to go on my mission before my school held final exams, so I had missed out on that. Ishida filled me in on how the exams went – by this time, everyone had already applied for their university courses – Medicine for Ishida, Sports Science for Tatsuki and Sado, and Economics for Inoue (she apparently wanted to become a teacher in that subject). I mentally sighed. I would've liked to go to university to finish my education. But this dream of mine may end up being fulfilled even if I can't go now, perhaps I can go a few years later. Soul Society's views were changing, so maybe they'll see the value of university degrees in the near future and have their captains go and get themselves a higher education. I'll be the first to sign up if and when that happens.

When all the mundane talk came to an end, Ishida decided to ask the question which he had probably been itching to ask since we met. He switched to Japanese (so nobody overheard us talking about spirits and stuff) and asked, "How's the hunt going? Any luck finding Aizen?"

I replied, "We haven't found him yet…but it's not like we're standing by idly waiting for him to appear before our eyes. Recently, we learned of his plan to link up with a Dark Wizard and we managed to foil that."

"Oh? Looks like the Shinigami are actually on the ball this time 'round," Ishida says coolly, sipping his wine, "Wait a minute…did you just say _dark wizard_?"

I chuckled, "Oh yes, I forgot to tell you about that," I took a deep breath and said solidly, "Magic exists. And I'm not talking about phoney magic like a guy pulling rabbits out of hats. This is _real magic_,"

Ishida cocks an eyebrow at Tatsuki, "Is he drunk?"

"No, he's only had one glass. He's not so pathetic as to get drunk from _that_," Tatsuki notes.

"It's true," I insist, "After all, if Shinigami and Quincy can exist, why can't magic?"

Ishida shakes his head, but says, "Alright. It's just a waste of time to argue about this. Just tell me what you guys have been doing besides thwarting one of Aizen's plans?"

"There's a school which teaches magic, you see," Tatsuki and Ishida roll their eyes, still not believing in magic. I press on, "Rukia and Hinamori – she's my lieutenant – went to this school as students to learn magic and also to keep an eye on things, 'cause we expected Aizen to cause some trouble there. I applied for a staff position there to oversee our mission. Midway through term, I was visited by two of the Arrancar,"

"The _Arrancar_? What did they want?" Ishida demanded.

"Ishida, do you remember Nel? The little girl we found in Hueco Mundo when we went to rescue Inoue?"

"Yes. How could I forget, _Itsugo_?" Ishida smirks.

"Shut up!" I snap. I calm myself with a sip of wine and continue, "Anyway…it turns out that 'child' was actually an adult – she was an arrancar working for Aizen, but she suffered a blow to the head. Her mask ended up broken and caused her to…become an amnesiac child, basically."

"Head trauma can cause amnesia, but I've never thought arrancar could actually turn into children because of it," Ishida says thoughtfully, "It's strange; An arrancar's physiology isn't that different from that of a human or a Shinigami's, maybe I should research this,"

Damn. Trust him to start an intellectual discussion on some esoteric topic. Physiology wasn't anything new to me, but it was boring, and Tatsuki had little, if any, knowledge on it. I quickly steer him away from the topic.

"Careful, you're gonna end up like Kurotsuchi Mayuri if you try to understand everything by research," I ignored his indignant spluttering and continued with my tale, "Nelliel – that's her actual name – visited me along with another Espada named Starrk. They're also working against Aizen, from what I gather. But like us, they've yet to move against them directly – so far, they just gave us some useful information. They said they'll contact us again if they come up with something else."

"I see," Ishida says neutrally. I cock an eyebrow at him – when it comes to spirits, the Quincy is rather knowledgeable. I ask him, "I fought a man who was working for Aizen, and he said something mysterious before he committed suicide using a poison pill. He…said that Aizen was a 'soul fragment'. Have you ever heard of that?"

Ishida swirled the wine in his glass, thinking hard about what I had just told him. His expression was unreadable, while Tatsuki looked at both of us intently, waiting for an explanation. Finally, Ishida spoke, choosing his words carefully.

"The three of us have seen souls before and we know that they look exactly like regular people, except they can't be seen by most people. Now, 'soul fragment' implies that a soul is incomplete, or that it's been separated into multiple pieces. That seems impossible. It's the same as splitting up the body into its separate parts and expecting each part to stay 'alive'."

"Do you think that's possible? Aizen is a _soul_ – he could cut his arm off and put the arm in a human _body_." As soon as the words leave my mouth, I'm regretting saying it.

"No, you idiot, that's impossible!" Ishida hisses. It was a stupid suggestion, I realise. I'd been clutching at straws. I smile bleakly, "I guess it _was_ a stupid idea." I down the rest of my wine. We pay for our food and leave the restaurant. Once we're out, we pile into my car – Ishida and Tatsuki had returned their bikes at a docking station earlier – as I want to bring them to Diagon Alley.

"Ok, now that I've told you all the official stuff already, it's time for less serious matters," I declare.

"Where are you taking us?" Tatsuki asks, interestedly.

"I'm going to prove to you that magic really exists – there are laws which prevent us from using magic in public, so I have to take you somewhere else first; somewhere where it's safe to use magic. And besides, they sell great ice cream where we're going. I hope you've still got room for dessert?"

Ishida corrected me, "Actually, it's called 'pudding' here; and yes, there's plenty of room for it,"

I smirked at him. I originally had some reservations about bringing Ishida and Tatsuki to Diagon Alley. After all, there were spells placed on the area which prevented muggles from getting in, or even from being aware of the place's existence. But I had learned long ago that our reiatsu was the reason why we were able to practise magic, despite not being born wizards. Wizards had higher reiatsu as a consequence of having more developed minds, due to magic. The reverse applied as well – higher-than-average reiatsu gave us the capability to perform magic. Tatsuki and Ishida had reiatsu that was high even by wizard standards. Tatsuki's wasn't as high as a Shinigami's, but it was enough. They both, theoretically, should be able to perform magic if they wished.

Sure enough, when we reach the Leaky Cauldron, the two are able to see the bar – which is good news, as the bar is protected by a spell which hides it from muggles. I bring them inside, then go into Diagon Alley. Our entry immediately elicits a gasp from my two companions.

"H-how is this possible, Kurosaki? A place as big and bright as this – we should have noticed it from outside!"

"Like I said…magic! This place is literally hidden from outsiders by magic. Now come along," I bring them both to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Dessert's on me, since Ishida and Tatsuki don't have Galleons or Sickles. Our desserts make their way to our tables quickly and we tuck in. Florean makes the best gelato in Diagon Alley and we're very quickly done. With that, I take a pen out of my pocket and place it on the table. I point my wand at it and intone, "_Wingardium Leviosa_," with a swish and a flick.

Instantly, the pen levitates – much to the shock of Ishida and Tatsuki.

"So it does exist!" Tatsuki breathes, looking intently at my wand. I think of letting her try magic using my wand, but I dismiss the thought – wands are highly personal items and wizards rarely let others use their wands, if at all. Besides, it wasn't wise to let complete amateurs use magic – I'd learned my lesson a year back when I'd accidentally created a second sun over this same street while trying to cast _Lumos Maxima_. I decided to switch to Japanese again, so we could talk about Voldemort without any eavesdroppers. I took out a piece of paper and wrote 'Lord Voldemort' on it, then showed it to them.

"Take a look at this name. Remember it, but _do not speak it out loud_, ok?"

They're surprised, but agree when they see how serious I am. Unlike most wizards, I have no problems saying Voldemort's name, but I don't want anyone else in the café overhearing the name and freaking out. We might even be mistaken for his supporters and arrested.

"I told you earlier about a dark wizard – this is his title. He was heavily active a few decades back, but 13 years ago, he suddenly lost his powers and fled."

"What kind of baddie was he?" Tatsuki asks. I smirk at her choice of words and explain about blood status and Voldemort's mania for 'blood purity' amongst wizards, as well as his unexpected demise after trying to kill Harry Potter. I try to keep it as sweet and simple as possible. The two of them are seething by the time I finish.

"He judged people based on what they're born with?"

"He went after a _baby_?"

"And now Aizen's trying to form an alliance with him?"

"It seems that way," I say, "Luckily, both Aizen and this dark wizard are severely weakened now. But, of course, there's hardly any room for complacency. We're doing all we can to find Aizen,"

"Find Aizen only?" Tatsuki asks, "What about the other one?"

"He's still a living human, and he hasn't threatened any spirits – so we can't do anything. The British Soul Society can't intervene," I say, "I don't like it, though. I think Britain would be better off if we fight both of them,"

All three of us sigh at the establishment and its harsh rules. Then, I sit up sharply and say, "Well, that's enough gloom and doom for one day, I think. I still need to buy flowers."

When they look at me in confusion, I tell them, "We're holding a late Valentine's Day Party, and I want flowers to go with my gifts."

"Valentine's Day in June? That's a stupid idea," Ishida deadpans.

"Hey! It's better than nothing! Besides, with a team like this, anything goes, really!"

"Hold on a minute…Gift_s_? In the plural?" Tatsuki asks in disbelief.

"Yeah – we didn't establish any rules for gift-giving. It's free-for-all, really. But the unspoken rule is that everyone of the opposite sex gets a gift from you – or at least, that's how it is among the guys," I say.

"Ohh? That's unexpectedly nice of you," Tatsuki murmurs. 'Unexpectedly'? Really, Tatsuki? You're really saying that to the guy who got a gift for you every year on your birthday and on special occasions like Christmas? She sees my face, laughs and punches my arm.

"I'm joking!"

So we go over to the flower shop. I can see why they're so interested; they're looking closely at the kinds of flowers I order, and the number. Ultimately, I come up with four individual yellow roses, each with its stalk wrapped in a white and silver cloth. Tatsuki looks bored. But I'm not done yet – next I ask the florist for twelve red roses in the white and silver cloth. Tatsuki nearly spits out the water she'd been drinking.

"_Twelve red roses_?" She splutters, "Who's the unlucky girl?"

"Hey watch it!" I growl, "A girl would be lucky to have me!"

"Yeaaah…say that to your ex. OH WAIT. She ran off to a different town after being with you a few months," she trills sarcastically, causing the florist to giggle. Looking at my expression, the florist, a middle-aged woman with an easy smile, says kindly, "Oh, don't worry, sir. I envy the girl, whoever it is. Not many men go out of their way to pick the right number flowers, or the right colours nowadays. You're very thoughtful."

"Thanks!" I grin at her, as Tatsuki continues laughing, and pay her for the flowers. Ishida is still clueless.

"I don't get it. What's the big deal with twelve red roses?"

Tatsuki pokes his arm and deadpans, "This is why you don't have a girlfriend, Ishida – you don't have a single romantic bone in your body!"

Tatsuki, the florist and I share a laugh at his expense and we walk off, ready to lecture him on the meaning behind the colour and numbers of flowers.

"So, yellow flowers are for friendship, see."

"O-kay…and I assume the red ones are for love?"

"Well, yes. But the numbers carry different meanings."

Tatsuki ticks off, "One represents love at first sight, two is for mutual love, three is to say 'I love you' – "

"Ok, ok…can we just skip straight to twelve? That's what I'd like to know now," says Ishida impatiently.

I hesitate, then bite the bullet and say, "It's used for a proposal."

He gives me a sideways glance and deadpans, "This is just my own opinion, Kurosaki, but it's far too early for marriage."

"No, you idiot! Not that kind of proposal!" Tatsuki and I shout at him at the same time. I add, "Besides, what kind of douche does a marriage proposal with flowers instead of a ring?"

"I…assumed you already had a ring," Ishida says, flustered.

"No, Ishida," I sigh, "It's used to ask a girl to be your…'steady', for want of a better word."

"Oh. I see," He says, and adjusts his glasses, embarrassed, "So…who's the girl?"

I grin at him, "Come to the party and you'll find out!"

Enthusiastically, Tatsuki says, "Sure we'll come along! When and where?"

"15 King's Road. Come over at about 7 pm tomorrow,"

"It's on! We'll bring some entertainment food and games." Tatsuki says, using our euphemism for junk food. Since they're here on vacation, they can hardly bring anything else. Besides, I don't mind the junk food once in a while, since Hisagi's going to cook for tomorrow's event, and his food is healthy _and_ delicious.

With that, we pile into my car again and I drop them off at the hotel where they're staying. They invite me to step in and say hi to my old classmates, Natsui, Kunieda and Momohara. But I decline - if I met them now, I'd have to explain why I suddenly left school and why I'm in London now. Ishida and Tatsuki know my backstory and they know perfectly well why I now have my own decently high salary. But I'd have to tell a whole load of lies to the others, and they, particularly Kunieda, will just see right through it.

They stand at the lobby and wave at me as I drive off back to 15 King's Road.

The Next Day

"Well, looks like everything's going fine," I remarked to Rukia. Hisagi was almost done cooking the dishes for all of us. Of course, he didn't do it alone; Lily helped him out using magic to get the job done very efficiently. Rukia smiled, "Yeah. I'm glad you invited Tatsuki and Ishida along. I've missed them both,"

"Yeah! It's just too bad Sado and Inoue aren't here; then it'd be a complete reunion!"

We both chuckle nostalgically at the thought, then sit on the sofa for a short while in companionable silence. I guess it's about time to ask her.

"Hey Rukia – I've got something to tell you. Could you wait upstairs for me, while I get something?"

She raises her eyebrows, but complies. She goes upstairs to the balcony on the second floor, which is a few doors away from my room. I get the flowers, mentally prepare myself and walk out to meet her.

"It's a lovely evening," she comments. She's absolutely right – while the sun still hasn't set completely, the stars are visible, as is the full moon.

"True," I murmur, "Was it a full moon when we first met?"

"It might have been. I don't know," She says. Her back is still turned to me. She turns to me and says, "What'd you want to talk about?"

"It's been a while since we met, Rukia. Thanks to you, a whole new world opened up before my eyes. I met new people, obtained new opportunities, and now, I'm going on to become a captain. I'm grateful that I was able to have this relationship with you. And now, I sincerely wish to take it to the next level. So, Rukia…Will you?"

She frowns at me, but is otherwise impassive. I smile slightly and give Rukia the bouquet of 12 red roses. She receives it, rather uncertainly.

"Twelve red roses – you understand what that means, right?" I asked. She thought for a while, and then said thoughtfully, "Yes, I'm well aware of its significance."

Rukia's Point of View

I take a deep breath – this is the first time something has ever happened to me. What should I do? Despite my calm appearance, I'm practically trembling inside. It's almost like I'm holding a fragile item, and my next move will decide if the item will stay intact or be shattered – not the best example, but I hope you understand its significance.

_Twelve Red Roses_…By giving me this gift, he's asking for a relationship with me. He's practically telling me '_I love you. Be my woman_'. How was I supposed to handle this? Ichigo's had this sort of experience before. He's talked to me about his ex, with whom he had to break up due to her and her family moving to another country. From what I knew, they left on good terms, but fell out of contact after a while. Would the same happen to me?

I almost-instantly banish the thought. When I tried turning away from him in the past, he just came running back (damned fool). And besides, I think to myself, I have to do this at some point in my life. While many Shinigami do choose to be single, there are just as many Shinigami who have partners. I'll have to make the decision at some point in my life. And who better to take this first step with than Ichigo himself? I could trust him. I could hardly ask for someone better to be the first guy I ever went out with. Besides, I did like him, and if this is any indication, he's noticed. I take a deep breath once again, then look up to face him. He's smiling slightly, and looks very relaxed. Just as expected of someone who's done this before.

I smile back and tell him, "…Yes,"

He grins at me and sweeps me off my feet in a tight embrace. Although the answer came out pretty fast, it was really a tough decision – and one that I don't regret one bit.

Later

Ichigo's Point of View

The party has just about started. By this time, everyone already knew about Rukia and me (some slimeball with red hair had been eavesdropping), and we received hearty congratulations all around – especially from Renji, who loudly made a toast to our relationship. James laughed out loud and jokingly accused, "So that's why you suddenly suggested a Valentine's Day Party in June, you sly bastard!" causing me to turn red and look away.

Just as I had expected, everyone got gifts, even Ikkaku. The other men had put in as much time and effort as I had, but they didn't know as much about the flowers – so they ended up getting every girl a single red rose, much to the amusement of those who were in the know. Sirius, Tatsuki and Ishida came by as well, and their presence livened up the party.

"So it was Rukia! I thought so!" Tatsuki exclaimed. Ishida smiled tightly at Rukia, "Well, good luck putting up with him!"

Tatsuki was more supportive, "Oh, don't be ridiculous! I'm sure he'll be a great boyfriend for you, Rukia! Right, Ichigo?" She gives me the death glare as she says this. I reply coolly, "Of course I will. What'd you take me for? A douche?"

Rukia laughs at our exchange and says, "Thanks for your concern, Tatsuki, Ishida. I was nervous at first when he asked me, but I don't regret my decision." Tatsuki smiles warmly, holding up her glass, "And that's all that matters in the end, huh?"

After a while, Rukia reminds me, "Ichigo! It's 7.30! The newcomer is supposed to arrive now!"

"Crap! I almost forgot about that!" I refill my glass with the cocktail and we all gather in the hall before the door, tense with excitement. Even after this time, Toshiro still doesn't know who the newbie is, so he's standing in front of all of us, ready to welcome the new addition. There are three knocks on the door, and we all shout, "Come in!" enthusiastically.

I hear some laughter on the other end, and the door opens up. We start to cheer as soon as the newbie stepped in, but when we saw his face, Rangiku-san, Renji, Toshiro, Ikkaku, Tatsuki, Ishida, Yumichika, Rukia and I fall silent – the rest quickly stop, noting our lack of reaction. Some of our eyebrows are twitching heavily.

For the new addition to our team is none other than…Kurosaki Isshin.

"Uhh, well. This is awkward," Rangiku-san says with a nervous laugh.

"Son! How're you doing?" he says boisterously.

Ever the troublemaker, Renji shouts, "Your son is sleeping with Rukia!"

Rukia and I turn bright red and we yell out a denial. But it's too late. What sounds like a high-pitched squeal comes out of my dad's mouth – and then he collapses, knocked unconscious by what he's just heard.

"Oh my god! Is he alright?" Shirogane shouts in concern.

"Oh, don't worry about him," I sigh, "Just be prepared for seven different kinds of crazy for the rest of this mission."

_*Sigh*_

_End of Special Chapter_

NOW THEN: This _is_ kind of a filler chapter, but some parts of this are consistent with the 'official storyline' of _The Next Great Adventure_, namely, the arrival of Isshin, as well as Rukia and Ichigo becoming an 'item'.

Also, Natsui Mahana, Kunieda Ryo and Momohara Tetsuo are not OCs – they're actual classmates of Ichigo from Bleach canon.

I feel an explanation is in order. Those who've read some of my reviews, or my earlier works, probably know that I dislike writing romance. But after reading some books (particularly the ones written by Darren Shan and Agatha Christie) and watching some TV shows (mainly _House, M.D. _and the four anime series released by Key Visual Arts), I realised that these works were all the more interesting because they had romantic subplots. So, I decided to try it out for myself. Just as a disclaimer, the romance will only be a minor theme in this story.

To Reader238: No, I don't read/watch Detective Conan. I am a fan of the original Sherlock Holmes novels, though!

To Justin: No, I'm not British. The 'saved me a spot of work' wasn't meant to draw any references to British vernacular. About Tatsuki's outfit in Chapter 1, yes, it was from the 'Karakuraizer episodes'. She was hunting Hollows simply to prove to Ichigo that she could take care of herself and that he shouldn't behave in a condescending manner towards her like he did before leaving for Hueco Mundo in the Bleach canon. Yup. Hope that answers your questions.


	11. Summer Holidays

The Next Great Adventure

Chapter 11: Summer Holidays

It was a few days after that I was contacted once again by Ichimaru Gin. The ex-captain in the Gotei-13/current lieutenant in the Agency was more considerate this time and notified me via email rather than a stone through the window (I'd forced him to cough up money for repairs). We met at the same place as the last time, Machiavelli's, and as usual, ordered our drinks and idly made small talk before the drinks arrived, which was our cue to start discussing serious stuff.

"So…some things happened recently. My dad came and joined our team."

"Oh. Isshin-san, right? That's unexpected,"

"Everything about my old man is a surprise," I grumbled, looking away. "So what've you got now?"

"Do you watch sports?" he asks.

"I don't watch sports…except for my younger sister's soccer matches, once in a while. Why're you asking me that, all of a sudden?"

"Oh? That's sweet of you," he chuckles, "And it's football here, not soccer."

"I know, smarty," I grumble, "What's your point?"

"Did you know that the Quidditch World Cup is going on?"

"Quidditch? They have a world cup for that?" I blink dumbly before shaking my head vigorously and saying, "Oh, of course they do. The most popular wizarding sport's bound to have a world cup tournament. Stupid question. But seriously…what is it with tournaments these days? First, the Triwizard Tournament – now this."

"Don't know anything about the Triwizard Tournament, and I couldn't care less," he deadpans. "But listen to this: The Quidditch World Cup Finals take place on the 22nd of August this year. Still a few more weeks left. There'll be wizards and witches coming in from all over the world, and the Ministry's gonna have a hell of a job sorting out security issues. Most of the Ministry staff will be occupied with duties at the Finals, and many of those who don't will be at the match as spectators."

Realisation dawns on me. "So you're saying we take the opportunity to search the Ministry for information on Horcruxes when there's nothing more than a skeleton staff manning its headquarters!"

"Precisely! Now, we can't just go into the Ministry's offices that same day and waste precious time blundering about looking for the library or the place where the records are kept. I have a plan, and that's why I came to you weeks before August 22nd."

"Let's hear it!"

"I got myself a job at the Ministry, as an administrative assistant."

I sniggered, "Isn't that a woman's job?" to which he quips, "Chauvinist!"

"Anyway, I'm gonna snoop around the Ministry and take note of places with information. I want you to join me as well. Tell your buddies that you're gonna search the Ministry for information on Aizen, and they'll probably let you go without any questions. I'll get you a job too. You just have to attend the interview and not screw up too badly. This is the time when the Ministry needs more workers, so they won't mind if you join them. They'll probably welcome you with open arms."

"Alright then. Just make sure you get me a job that I'll actually be able to do. I don't know much magic other than what's used for healing,"

"Will do! I'll email you when my boss gets back to me about your interview,"

And so, because of that meeting, an email came to me just barely a few days later regarding a job opportunity as a HR* assistant. I'd done that sort of work before during the summer break when I was still in High School, so I was happy with my new job, which would start the second week of Summer Break. I aced the interview, and was accepted right away.

I quickly held a meeting with the other nominees and Toshiro to explain what had happened.

"Hey guys…remember we talked some time ago about infiltrating the Ministry of Magic? I just got a job there. I'll try and dig up any info on Aizen they might have,"

Renji remarks, "That's pretty fast of you,"

"Good work, Kurosaki. You're becoming surprisingly reliable," Toshiro says dryly. I flip him behind his back, causing Renji to have a fit of giggles, which he hurriedly explained away as a cough.

But Toshiro's snarky comments aside, I'm lucky they left the matter without questioning it any further. Ichimaru thought it would be for the best if the Shinigami didn't know that we were working together, and I agreed with him. Of course, I didn't plan to keep it a secret forever. As soon as we found something good, we could show it to the Team; then I could argue that Ichimaru's help was beneficial and they would be forced to agree.

The next Monday was my first day at work. I dressed up in my work clothes. Wizards were supposed to wear robes, but I disregarded the dress code and wore a shirt with slacks and my black hoodie instead. My boss was a reasonable man; he didn't care what I wore as long as it was reasonably smart. I met up with Ichimaru in London as we had arranged earlier and we went into the Ministry through the same way as we did the last time – through the Phone box. It was a strange encounter, stepping in, keying in the word 'MAGIC' on the number pad and listening to the disembodied voice of the woman welcoming us to the Ministry of Magic. We both worked on Level Two – Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He would go to the Auror Office where he worked as a clerk, and I would go to the manpower office where I was a Human Resources assistant.

The days passed rather uneventfully. We would mind our own business at work, but during our breaks, we would either talk to our colleagues and fish for information about records rooms, both secret and non-secret, or we would just go walkabout and look for such places ourselves, each assigning ourselves one floor. As for communication, we simply used our phones, since they were a good way to maintain secrecy. Our phones were password-protected, and in any case, most wizards were utterly clueless about technology. The only problem was that phones could not be used in the Ministry because of magic interference, so I first had to go and see Starrk and get him to do his thing – I had taken Rukia, Hinamori, Renji and Ichimaru's phones and brought them all into Hueco Mundo to have them fixed. The ex-Espada was most displeased at my request (mostly for waking him from his nap, actually) and only agreed to do it if I promised to do a favour for him in the future. He still hasn't come calling about that favour yet.

A few weeks into my job, I made an odd friend. I went walkabout during my break, and Rukia decided to text me. I ended up leaning on the wall and repeatedly texting her back. After a while, Renji and Hinamori joined in as well – the idiots! Didn't they know I was at work? Well, it was break-time, actually, but the way they were ganging up on me was unnerving. As I repeatedly fended off the texts coming from the other members of my team, I noticed a man staring at me intently – or rather, his gaze was fixed on my phone.

"What?" As I say that, he jumps, startled, and looks very flustered. Damn. Too blunt.

"Is there a problem?" I ask, more politely this time.

"Uh, no not at all. But just…_how are you doing that?_" he asks, with the air of a child asking his parent how cars work or how planes fly.

"Doing…_what_ exactly, Mr…" I leave the sentence hanging and he hastily introduces himself, "Weasley. Arthur Weasley, from the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. And I meant that device in your hands: It's muggle technology, right? Such things don't normally work in places like the Ministry. I was wondering how you were able to use it here,"

"Oh, that. A friend of mine helped me out; he did something to my phone – I don't know what, exactly – and then I was able to use it wherever. By the way, I'm Kurosaki. Ichigo Kurosaki, from Human Resources," Something about the man seems familiar. "Wait…Weasley, you say? Do you have a son at Hogwarts now?"

He says enthusiastically, "Yes, I do! Three of my sons are at Hogwarts now, actually – and my only daughter too. One just graduated, and he's working at the Ministry! How do you know about that?"

I raise my eyebrows at what he says. Just how many kids does this guy have? "I worked at Hogwarts last year as a Medical intern at the hospital wing. I know some of the students there, including this guy named Harry Potter – that one got in trouble often, and your son was his best friend so I saw him at the hospital wing several times." It was best if I pretended not to know so much about Harry Potter.

He looks concerned, then shakes his head and sighs, "Those kids will be the death of me one of these days,"

He then smiles at me and says, "Why not join me for lunch? I'm really intrigued by muggle devices, and you seem pretty knowledgeable!"

"What? It's just a phone!" I chuckle at the strange wizard, but I follow him anyway. It's not like I had anything better to do anyway. As we ate, I quickly realised that he was extremely fascinated with the mundane world of ordinary people, those who went by without magic. He had even cast a spell on a car to allow it to fly. I laughed as he told me how his sons had taken it without his permission a few years back and used it to fetch their friend Harry Potter from his home. I told him about the car Sirius and I had found (obviously, I didn't mention Sirius' name) and fixed – he told me sternly that I might have committed an offence if I had not been careful, but off-record, he desperately wanted to know how I had done it and if I could show it to him one day. He seriously was a strange guy, but very likeable, and we became friends after that.

A short time after Isshin's arrival, more than a week ago

I was sitting very uncomfortably on the sofa, with my Dad sitting on the armchair opposite. We both didn't speak for a long time, and it was almost as if I was in trouble and about to receive a tongue-lashing from him. Except he's never scolded me because he's too goofy to care about matters like discipline. Rukia decides to leave, saying that we've obviously got intimate father-son things to talk about and that it would be disrespectful of her to stay. I doubt it; knowing Kurosaki Isshin, there's probably no way this is going to be a serious talk. Dad's been tapping his chin and looking thoughtful for a while, like he's gathering his thoughts. Finally, he looks up and says, "Do you know why I joined this team?"

"No…" I say tentatively. I really have no idea why he came, and I didn't know if he came of his own accord, or if someone asked or ordered him to come. "Wait – what happened to the girls?"

"They're at a friend's house. I'll be here for a few months, tops," He says offhandedly. He then pauses, actually considering what he's going to say next.

"Your education is by no means over, Ichigo." I stare at him in shock, and he continues, "I had never planned for you to become a Shinigami while you were still a human, so we never thought of education for you."

"What kind of education are you talking about?" I ask.

"The arts that a Shinigami should know," He says seriously, "You learned some basic stuff from Rukia-chan, back when you were filling in for her. Next, Kisuke became your teacher. He was more experienced and gave you some valuable knowledge. But after that, you hardly had any formal training – you simply fought powerful enemies and forced yourself to improve."

"And you think that's not enough," I say reflectively. It's more of a statement than a question.

"That's right. You still haven't tapped your full potential, and as your father, I can't let this go on," he says decisively.

"'As my father'? What's this about?"

He stands up and sighs, "This is gonna be a long talk. I'm going to get a beer first. Want any?"

I motion at him to take a seat and fetch refreshments using my wand instead.

"That's a pretty useful trick," he chortles as he takes a long gulp of beer. He then starts his talk, "Humans are born on earth, and when they die, they go to Soul Society. If they have spiritual power, they go to become Shinigami. And, in some cases, they settle down, get married and have children. Now, Ichigo, you know about the bond between two Shinigami, right?"

I'm thrown by the question, but then I remember the time Rukia lost her memories, and everyone forgot who she was except for me. Was this the bond he was talking about?

"The bond you had with Rukia was an exceptionally strong one because she first awakened your latent Shinigami powers. That kind of bond takes time to build, but there's a different kind of bond that is created naturally – the one between Shinigami and their Shinigami offspring,"

"Are you saying such a bond exists between us? Since we're both Shinigami and I'm your son?" I didn't want such a bond! He laughs at my expression and says, "Sorry, but it's the truth! You'll have to live with it!"

"Ok, so what? What's this got to do with my education?"

"Everything," he says emphatically, "Do you remember the name of my zanpakuto?"

He'd only mentioned the name one time, but I remembered it well. "_Engetsu_" I murmured.

"That's right. Your Zanpakuto is Zangetsu, because you're my son. The Zanpakuto itself was similar to mine. That means that there are many things I could teach you about your own sword. This is practically a tradition, y'know. My father taught me about my Zanpakuto, and he was taught by his own father."

"So you're saying you want to train me?" I ask.

"Yeah," He says emphatically, "This thing goes back many years, Ichigo. It's a longstanding tradition in our family that each generation must have one male trained in these arts."

I shake my head. He doesn't look surprised at my answer, but says firmly, "I can't take 'no' for an answer, Ichigo, not in the future, anyway. You can't put this off indefinitely. You're very unrefined – even after all this time. You've learned much over the past two years, but I don't think it's enough. There are some important techniques that you should learn,"

I sigh, "It's not like I absolutely don't want to learn. I won't have enough time, with my new job; that's all."

He nods, "I understand. Take your time and think about it. It's not an easy decision to make, so you don't have to give me an answer right away."

"Besides, I'd like to know more about it before I jump in – what sort of training?"

"Well…that's sort of hard to express – I guess the simplest explanation is that it deepens your bond with your Zanpakuto, and that allows you to draw on your Zanpakuto's power and, more importantly, abilities without actually having to draw your blade. You can even do it in your human body, without having to push your Shinigami form out of your body. And your _Zanjutsu_ will improve as well. You'll be able to use the blade as an extension of your arm, rather than as a separate object. What's more, I'll teach you how to properly harness your resolve and killing intent."

He finishes his beer and crushes his can. I silently think about what he's just said, then I remember something that happened to me earlier.

"Wait – killing intent?"

"Yeah. Urahara taught you all about resolve, didn't he? Whether or not you're motivated makes a difference to an attack. A weak man with a powerful _spirit_, spurred by resolve and motivation, can defeat a strong man with less spirit. Killing intent is the same as resolve, except it's specifically born out of your wish to inflict harm on others,"

Looks like there may be something to this training after all. I promise him that I'll think of it carefully and give him an answer as soon as possible.

Some time later

Third Person narrator Point of View

It was about the middle of Summer Holidays. The Hogwarts school year had ended weeks ago, and the team of Japanese Shinigami based in London had welcomed their newest member, Kurosaki Isshin, and he had already settled in with the other Shinigami. Kurosaki Ichigo and Ichimaru Gin had already gotten used to working in the Ministry of Magic, and by now knew the layout of the Ministry like the back of their hands. However, even as they worked hard to find the missing pieces of the puzzle, someone else was plotting to make his move elsewhere in Britain.

In the village of Little Hangleton, there was a small light flickering weakly in the run-down old building known as the Riddle House. Once the majestic home of the wealthy Riddle Family, it had become dilapidated over the years following the mysterious death of its three inhabitants, the elderly Mr. and Mrs Riddle and their son Tom.

The house was looked after by a man named Frank Bryce, who worked as the gardener back when the Riddles were alive. He had been arrested after the Riddles were discovered dead, but released quickly because there was absolutely no evidence to suggest foul play – no traces of poison and no external injuries that might have been caused by blunt or sharp objects, or by bullets. They hadn't been sick either – all the police and the doctors knew was that their hearts had stopped and they had stopped breathing for some reason. Bryce was let off but nobody in the village trusted him – all their prejudiced eyes saw was a man who had somehow killed the three Riddles and got away with it. Today, after all those years had passed by, Bryce, now an elderly man of almost 77, and with a bad leg, struggled to perform his duty, and was routinely harassed by the villagers and their children, and after that, their grandchildren….

…Which was why he thought that he was being pranked yet again when he saw the light in the Riddle House. Bryce saw it as his duty to take care of the House, and while he did not have the means to keep it in good condition, he did his best with the garden and also prevented anyone from getting into the House. So, when he saw the light on, he cursed and got out of his cottage as soon as he could. Grabbing his cane and spitting insults at 'those wretched kids', he hobbled over to the house as fast as he could. Finding the spare key, he stepped inside. He did not miss the fact that the doors didn't appear to be forced, and the windows were all shut – as if someone had simply unlocked the door and stepped inside and relocked it, rather than breaking in.

He slowly ventured up to the second floor, silently as he could. There was one room, with the door open just a crack. He could hear voices inside.

"There is a little more in the bottle, My Lord, if you are still hungry" went one voice. It sounded timid and fearful.

"Later," said a second voice. This too belonged to a man – but it was strangely high-pitched, and cold as a sudden blast of icy wind. "Move me closer to the fire, Wormtail."

The first man scurried over, presumably to move the other man's armchair closer to the fireplace. It was very clear that he was the servant.

"My Lord, may I ask how long we are going to stay here?"

"A week," said the cold voice. "Perhaps longer. The place is moderately comfortable, and the plan cannot proceed yet. It would be foolish to act before the Quidditch World Cup is over."

Quidditch? Bryce frowned; was he hearing things correctly?

"The – the Quidditch World Cup, My Lord?" said Wormtail. "Forgive me, but – I do not understand – why should we wait until the World Cup is over?"

"Because, fool, at this very moment wizards are pouring into the country from all over the world, and every meddler from the Ministry of Magic will be on duty, on the watch for signs of unusual activity, checking and double-checking identities. They will be obsessed with security, lest the Muggles notice anything. So we wait."

What? First 'Quidditch', now 'Muggles'. Who were these two? Members of some cult?

The cold voice spoke again, "Any word from Miyamoto?"

"None yet, my Lord," said the other man, sounding somewhat sulky, "I still think it is a mistake to trust him, my Lord."

"Do you think I'm being naïve, Wormtail?" the cold voice snarled dangerously.

"No, my lord! Of course not!" Wormtail squealed loudly.

"I understand your concern. He was not affiliated with us at all. His offer of help is sudden and suspicious," the cold voice went on thoughtfully. "But what he promises is good. I have searched his memories – he has acted bona fide, and will be of great use to us. When he has outlived his usefulness…"

The first voice asks hopefully, "Maybe we could use him instead of Harry Potter, my Lord!"

"Not Harry Potter?" breathed the second voice softly. "I see…"

"My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!" said Wormtail, his voice rising squeakily. "The boy is nothing to me, nothing at all! It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard – any wizard – the thing could be done so much more quickly!"

"I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other. I have waited thirteen years. A few more months will make no difference. As for the protection surrounding the boy, I believe my plan will be effective. All that is needed is a little courage from you, Wormtail – courage you will find, unless you wish to feel the full extent of Lord Voldemort's wrath –"

A fist suddenly slammed into Bryce's back, and he fell with a cry. The two voices inside the room fell silent. Someone roughly grabbed Bryce by his collar and brought him into the room. The elderly gardener was still in shock from the blow he had suffered, and didn't protest. As the man entered the room, Wormtail yelled, "Miyamoto? What're you doing here?" He had drawn his wand and was pointing it at the man, and he didn't lower it even after seeing the man's face.

The man who had just entered was looked no older than 15 and had the stereotypical image of a delinquent – with spiky, unkempt black hair, pale skin and dark rings around his eyes. He also had a single gold earring. His neat clothing stood out in sharp contrast to his uncouth hair – he was wearing what looked like a school uniform – a white shirt, grey trousers and a matching blazer with an emblem on the pocket, all very well-cut and without a single crease. His black court shoes were extremely shiny. In his free hand, he held a brown attaché case. This was Miyamoto Hajime.

"How tight your security is," Miyamoto intoned sarcastically, in a low-pitched voice typical of a boy his age. Despite his Japanese heritage, he spoke English fluently, without any trace of an accent. "I think he heard everything,"

"It is fine," Voldemort said before Wormtail could protest. "What news do you bring me, Miyamoto?"

"I have found it, my Lord," the Japanese boy said. He left Bryce on the floor and walked around to in front of the armchair where Voldemort was seated. If he was shocked by Voldemort's appearance, he didn't show it. He reached into his attaché case and drew a small glass box. Inside it was a small black ball that was glowing with an eerie purple light. He gingerly opened the box and handed the ball to Voldemort.

"Very good, Miyamoto," Voldemort hissed softly. "Yes, this is real. I can hear his voice,"

He suddenly handed the ball over to Miyamoto, who looked slightly surprised, but took it without hesitation and placed it in the box again.

"This can come later, after my…restoration,"

"Understood, my lord,"

As he did that, Bryce recovered from his blow and struggled to his feet.

"Awake, muggle?" Voldemort asked coldly.

"What's that you're calling me?" said Bryce defiantly.

"Muggle – it means that you are not a wizard,"

Bryce ignored this and demanded, "What are you planning? You sound like a cult, or spies, the way you're speaking! I'll have you know the police can sort you out!"

"The police? What can _they_ do? I have defied the most powerful of wizards for decades. Tell me, Muggle, what can your puny _police_ do against Lord Voldemort?"

Miyamoto reached inside his blazer and asked, "Shall I kill him?"

As Bryce took an uncertain step back upon hearing the word 'kill', Lord Voldemort hissed, "No, Miyamoto – I will do it. Wormtail, turn the chair around."Hesitantly, Wormtail complied. Bryce looked closely, out of curiosity, and instantly regretted it. He screamed out loud upon taking in the horrendous appearance of Lord Voldemort, and as a result, he did not hear the incantation that escaped the lips of the dark wizard. There was a bright flash of green light and Bryce dropped dead. Two hundred miles away, the boy called Harry Potter woke with a start.

Ichigo's Point of View

Finally, it was the 22nd of August – the day before the Quidditch World Cup. We had gone through our plans one last time the previous night and finalised all the details, from where we would search to where we would hide our human bodies (for we were going to search the place while in our Shinigami forms). So far, the leads the rest of the Shinigami were investigating were unsubstantial – but Ichimaru and I might be able to find something good at the Ministry. This was going to be a good day, I thought.

Except for one tiny mistake – I was not at the Ministry of Magic headquarters in London. Instead, I was hundreds of miles away – in some place where there were hundreds of wizards and many tents – like a mass camping spree. A short distance away stood a massive stadium. I sighed as I recalled what had just happened.

_I had walked into the Ministry of Magic with Ichimaru exactly as planned. The Ministry was still bustling in the early hours, but we both knew that it would be relatively empty afterward. Ichimaru walked off to his workplace on the Second Floor while I had to go on to the Fourth Floor. I greeted my boss, Mr. Randall Baynes, when I got in. He greeted me back with a smile, but then asked suddenly, "Kurosaki, I just reread your résumé – you've got medical skills, right?"_

_My smile froze. "Yeah…I used to work as an intern in the hospital wing at Hogwarts,"_

_"Very good," he beams, "Sorry to post you elsewhere at such short notice, but the people over at the Quidditch World Cup Finals need more medical staff. I think it's better if you go there than if you simply stay here,"_

_"Eh – what? I'm being posted elsewhere?" Panic starts to set in._

_"Yes. Don't worry – transport is arranged. Hurry, take this portkey. Once you've arrived, report to Ludo Bagman; he'll tell you what to do," he holds out a piece of paper. The hell? He arranged transport without even asking me first! And what's with making the paper into a portkey? I bet he made that on the spot with a random paper! And who the hell is Bagman? Before I can protest vocally, he presses the paper into my hands. Damn! I've got to drop the paper or I'll end up in some unknown location! But unfortunately, it's too late – I feel myself being jerked forward violently by an invisible rope attached to my belly button, and when I open my eyes a few seconds later, I'm at the field cluttered with tents._

I squeeze my eyes shut and let fly a string of curses in Japanese and English, causing some wizards to look at me in alarm, while others laughed and joined in. I angrily ignored them and took out my phone to call Ichimaru. He's impatient.

"Ichigo-kun! Where're you? We were supposed to start 5 minutes ago!"

"Yeah I know! Listen! Something happened; I won't be able to join you today!"

"What? How can you back out of all this at this point?" He demands. I suppress a snicker – I'd love to see that bastard's face now – it's the first time I've heard him so perturbed.

"I didn't do it by my own choice! My boss just told me I'm being posted elsewhere and pressed a portkey into my hands! He practically forced me here, before I could drop the 'key!"

There's silence. I can imagine him rubbing his temples in frustration – it's my fault, and yet, it's _not_ my fault.

"Ok, right. Whatever. Where are you now?"

"I'm at the World Cup now," I tell him.

"Alright then," he sounds sulky, "I'll search the Ministry – you see if you can come back."

He thinks a little more, and says, "Or actually…ok, tell you what: call up Izuru and ask him to come down to the Ministry in his spirit form. I'll get him to help me out."

"Kira? You sure?"

"Yeah – he'll probably listen to me. _Probably_. As for you, it's fine if you stay there – you'd probably take too long to get back, and besides, something interesting might happen at the world cup final – all those people jammed in one area, that's practically inviting a terrorist attack of some kind,"

I sigh, "Will do. Sorry, Ichimaru,"

"Nope. It's fine," he says tightly, "I had to deal with this kind of screw-ups all the time back when I was a captain. It's good to have a back-up plan. Make sure you tell Izuru about me first – I don't want him freaking out when he comes to see me."

"Ok…see ya," I end the call and start calling headquarters. By a stroke of luck, Kira himself is the one who answers the call.

"Hey, Kira, this is Ichigo."

"Kurosaki-kun? What'd you need? Aren't you doing your undercover research at the Ministry of Magic now?"

"Yeah – but my boss went and forced me to go elsewhere. I'm stuck at some random place now and I can't get back. Now, Kira, listen – I need you to do something."

Kira is surprised, but he's supposed to obey the orders of the Captain-nominees, so he quickly takes a pen and paper to jot down my instructions.

"Ok, this is gonna be a surprise: I'm not investigating the Ministry alone. I had a partner: Ichimaru Gin."

He gasps out loud, "You were working all this time with Captain Ichimaru?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I kept it a secret from you, but it was necessary."

"But-but-how? He left the Gotei-13!"

"He joined the Agency. Don't worry; he's also an enemy of Aizen now, so that makes him our comrade,"

He gulps and says, "O-ok. But what'd you want me to do?"

"Today, the Ministry will be relatively empty, so the two of us were planning to search their records room. But since I'm unable to do so, I want you to go in my stead." I then give him directions. When I'm done, he thinks about it for a while. My voice softens and I ask, "I understand if you're not willing. I can ask one of the others to go – "

He cuts me off, "No. I'll go, Kurosaki-kun." He sounds determined. "I can deal with Captain Ichimaru. If he's on our side now, I'll go and help him in any way I can."

"Alright. Thanks, Kira. I appreciate it."

"No problems, Kurosaki-kun," His voice takes on a peeved tone and he says, "But I wish you'd tell us about these things sooner!"

I chuckle, "Sorry, man. He didn't want the Shinigami to know about this, and for good reason too. I'll see if I can join you later. Maybe you can catch up over drinks – my treat!"

"I'll hold you to that promise!" he warns jokingly before hanging up. I put the phone back into my pocket, relieved. Thank goodness for the can-do spirit shared by all the officers in the Gotei-13.

I sigh and plunge my hands in the pockets of my hoodie before going walkabout. Ichimaru was right; something interesting may really happen here. I might as well go around and look for any of my ministry friends.

"Ichigo! Is that you? Ichigo!" someone yells behind me, and I whip around to see a large group of people, and in front of them is Arthur Weasley.

"Arthur," I mutter in surprise at the man who'd befriended me simply because he'd seen me using my phone in the Ministry. With him are the people I met in Hogwarts last year – Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and some others.

"It's you!" Harry shouts in surprise. He and his best friends are looking apprehensive – and with good reason; after all, I was also in on the secret behind Sirius Black. I silently mouth to them, "_Talk later_," to which they nod.

"You got tickets for the match too?" Mr. Weasley asks excitedly, "By the way, kids, this is Ichigo Kurosaki – a colleague of mine. Of course, you lot would know him from Hogwarts too,"

Everyone introduces themselves. Along with Harry and his two best friends, there's Ron's sister Ginny, and a family friend called Amos Diggory and his son Cedric. I remember Cedric Diggory. The previous year, Harry had gotten injured severely while playing Quidditch, and Cedric came to visit him, even though he was on the opposite side. He had received a chilly reception from the other Gryffindors, which was odd, considering he had meant well and was displaying good sportsmanship. Unfortunately, Harry had still been unconscious at that time.

In reply to Arthur's question, I grumble, "No. I'm here on duty. Hey, listen, do you know a man named…Bagman, I think. I was asked to look for him. Apparently they need more medical staff here. By the way, it would be a great help if you can tell me where 'here' is,"

"You don't know what this place is?" one of the girls, Ginny, blurted out.

"Do you?" I snapped, and she blushed, not knowing the answer herself. Arthur laughed and said, "It's only natural that she doesn't know – we came by portkey,"

"And so did I! I was expecting a quiet day at the office when my boss suddenly presses a portkey into my hands and tells me to go and help out at the World Cup,"

Hermione frowns and asks, "Wait a minute: how come you're Mr. Weasley's colleague now?"

I chuckle, "I'm no longer working at Hogwarts. I got a job as a HR assistant at the Ministry at the start of the holidays,"

Ron complains, "How come everyone's resigning all of a sudden! First Lupin, now you?" his face suddenly lights up and he says, "Maybe Snape'll be the next to go!"

I laugh sharply, "You wish! Wait – Lupin resigned? Why?"

The girl – Ron's sister – said bleakly, "Nobody would tolerate a werewolf as a teacher, would they?"

"Well, damn. I liked the guy," I mutter, running a hand through my hair.

Arthur coughs and says, "Well, if you're looking for Bagman, why not come with us? I can point him out to you,"

I agree, and shoot a meaningful glance at Harry and his friends. In truth, I have no intention of meeting Bagman and doing my job – I'd much rather stay with Arthur and his group, since I have lots to discuss with Harry and the others. Of course, I'd have to think carefully so I don't reveal too much information to them, but there are some things they need to know. We walk through the tents and finally find a spot marked with a signboard that says 'WEEZLY'.

"Couldn't have a better spot!" said Arthur happily. "The field is just on the other side of the wood there, we're as close as we could be." He hoisted his backpack from his shoulders. "Right," he said excitedly, "no magic allowed, strictly speaking, not when we're out in these numbers on Muggle land. We'll be putting these tents up by hand! Shouldn't be too difficult…Muggles do it all the time…Here, Harry, where do you reckon we should start?"

The Weasleys were apparently a pure blood family, so none of them had much experience of the doing things without magic. In the end, it fell to Hermione, Harry and me to pitch the tent.

"That was pretty tough. Good thing I had some practice back at Council camp," I mutter once we're done.

"Council camp?" Hermione asks.

"Yeah – I used to be the Council VP at my old school,"

"What – the VP?" she asks incredulously.

"Council? What's that?" Ginny asks.

Hermione explains, "It means he was practically like the Head Boy back in his old school, or rather, second in command to the head boy,"

"No way! Percy used to be head boy, but you're nothing like him!" Ron protests.

"What about Bill? He used to be head boy to!" Ginny argues.

"Who's Bill?"

"Their older brother," Harry explains, "He used to be Head Boy, and he's pretty cool. Their brother Percy was head boy too, but he's…quite the disciplinarian," to which I mouthed "Ohh," in understanding.

Once we had settled down somewhat, Harry and Ron suddenly decided to go for a walk about the area, and Hermione quickly joined in. Arthur hesitated sending them out by themselves, but I cut in, "I'll go with them," and he relented. Ginny wanted to come as well, but Ron rudely told her to stay put and leave them alone. I grinned apologetically at her and said, "Next time," before waving and walking off.

We briskly walked into the woods and when we were sure nobody could hear us, they turned around and looked at me expectantly.

"He's safe,"

"Tell us exactly what happened," Hermione insists.

"Well, alright then," I sigh, "After Sirius left, I found that someone had pursued him, so I went after them. I defeated the guy, but before I could question him, he took a poison pill and committed suicide."

The trio looks shocked at this revelation.

"You _fought_ him off?" Hermione asks – she looks giddy.

"But don't worry – Sirius was unharmed. The only problem was that Hagrid's pet, Buckbeak, took off somewhere without us. We started walking off, hoping to hitchhike back to London. I thought of disguising Sirius so that people wouldn't recognise him. But it was unnecessary. We managed to find ourselves a car. It was damaged, but we fixed it and rode back to London on conjured fuel."

"So where's he staying now?"

"His family home. Turns out the Ministry's pretty lax on security – we'd been expecting the house to be kept on watch, just in case Sirius decides to return, but there was absolutely nobody watching. So, at night-time a few weeks ago, I sneaked him back inside. I still drop in from time to time to bring him new food supplies and stuff to keep him entertained." What I didn't mention was that I wasn't the only one helping out – the rest of the team also would visit him regularly. But I guessed that the trio would be alarmed if I told them that a bunch of other people were helping out, so I pretended that I was doing everything by myself.

Hermione breathes out in relief and says, "Thanks, Mr. Kurosaki. I feared the worst when he took off, but he's in good hands, it seems."

Then, something comes to mind and I ask, "By the way, Harry – you sent a letter to Sirius recently, didn't you? About your scar?"

Hermione and Ron whip around to face him. Apparently, this was news to them as well. Sirius had received the letter some time back and I had been there to witness it.

"Your scar? What happened, Harry?" Hermione asks, concerned.

Harry immediately says, "Nothing. It was nothing," I frown at his reply – it came too soon to be a genuine one. I shook my head with a smile. I knew the feeling – something bad happens to you and you immediately deny it hoping that it would make your friends feel at ease. It rarely worked, though. It was impossible to hide things from good friends like Hermione, or Tatsuki and Rukia in my case. I say gently, "Look, I know how you feel. Some guys, like us, always like to put on a brave front. But with friends like these, you're better off sharing what's on your mind, instead of just shutting it away."

Harry sighs and runs a hand through his hair before relenting, "Ok…my scar hurt. And it usually hurts when Voldemort is nearby…"

He broke off and I said, "Sirius wanted to see you ASAP, but I talked him out of it,"

"Wait, what's 'asap'?"

"As soon as possible," I sigh, before continuing, "Well, I suppose it was a good thing that I came here by accident. Let me have a look at the scar."

Knowing a lot about scars, mainly because of the numerous scars on my own body, I was able to tell that it simply appeared like a normal scar. I tried scanning his reiatsu with my senses too, but there was no residual reiatsu on it.

"Damn. It looks perfectly normal to me,"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ron asks.

"Well, yeah…but we know there's a problem. If there was something wrong with the scar, it would be a big clue as to what the problem is." I scratch my head and say, "Well, sorry guys, but I'm really not the best person to ask – this looks more of a magical than a medical problem,"

Hermione bit her lip anxiously and said, "We should have that checked, Harry. It could be a sign of something really bad,"

Harry massaged his temples and said with an air of finality, "It was nothing, Hermione! I don't think it's abnormal for a scar to hurt once in a while. But, look. If it hurts again, I'll go straight to Mr. Weasley, or Madam Pomfrey or someone and have it looked at. Satisfied?"

She didn't like it, but she nodded anyway. I chuckled and said, "Well, on the other hand, Sirius is much healthier now. The past twelve years've been bad for him, obviously. But a few weeks worth of solid food and drinks have restored him fully."

"Thank God for that. If only we'd managed to prove his innocence, though!" Hermione frets. She's right about that. We visit Sirius quite often, and some of us, usually James, stay over for a few nights in a row. His house is huge, and can accommodate many people. Speaking of James, he was really lucky to be able to interact with his best friend as much as he did. While there was a law which forbade the British Shinigami to interact with the living, an exception was made for Sirius because of the threat he faced from Aizen.

Later on, Arthur and the rest went for the Quidditch World Cup match. I had already decided not to go looking for Ludo Bagman, and sneaked in, saying I was from the Ministry. I was unable to join Arthur and the rest at the Top Box, but I couldn't be bothered – I was never interested in sports anyway. I just got in because it would be more interesting than being outside. I watched on as the players mounted their brooms and kicked off – I'd never flown on a broom before, but I wanted to give it a try. It looked fun – like having your own personal one-seater helicopter.

Pretty much the only interesting thing that happened was a move by one of the Red Team members (Bulgaria, I think) – he sped towards the ground at high-speed, and pulled out of the dive at the last moment. The Irishman who had followed him was unlucky – he crashed, unable to pull out in time. But after that, I tuned out. Even the fast-paced sport fought on broomsticks seemed slow to my eyes, which were used to high-speeds as a result of having fast-moving enemies and being able to move fast myself.

After a while, it ended. Ireland won the match – causing all the supporters in green to give a raucous standing ovation. I got out of the stadium and waited at the tent for Harry and the others. The gang was extremely restless and spent the next few hours discussing the match.

"Kurosaki, you were there too, right?" Harry asks.

"Well, yeah, but I was hardly paying attention. I wasn't even supposed to be here, like I said earlier."

"Not paying attention!" Ron gasps like it's a mortal sin.

"The only noteworthy thing was what that Bulgarian guy did – you know, the part where he dived and suddenly pulled out – "

"The Wronski Feint!" Ron says breathlessly, "Amazing, wasn't it?"

"What's amazing was that he didn't fall off his broom," I deadpan, "Pulling out of a dive at those speeds – he could have blacked out. But how'd you do it anyway? Flying, I mean,"

"How to fly? Well, you mount the broom and kick off! Well, that's the basic part anyway. Anyone can fly, but it takes skill and practice to properly control the broom and to _fly well_," one of the Weasley brothers, Charlie, explains. Good thing I asked – flying seemed to be an essential skill here, like driving, and I might need it in the future. The argument went on for a while, and I listened, only throwing in a comment now and then. The conversation disinterested me anyway. I would have taken a corner in the tent and just fallen asleep standing up, except it wouldn't have been polite. Luckily, Ginny fell asleep at the table itself, and Arthur immediately ordered everyone to bed.

"Ichigo, do you have a place to stay?"

"Uhh…not really. I was assigned against my will, remember?"

"Well, that's alright. I can conjure up a sleeping bag for you,"

"It's fine. I'll just take the corner," I smile. He gives me a sideways look, "You sure? It's not like it's any extra effort on my part,"

"Oh, alright then. Go ahead."

But as he takes out his wand and starts to wave it, I hear a loud explosion.

"What the hell?" I rush outside – the campsite had been noisy over the past few hours thanks to the celebrating Irish, but now the drunken yells of triumph had changed to desperate screams of terror. Several tents had been set alight. Scanning the crowd, I quickly found the troublemakers – it was a group of wizards moving in formation with their wands outstretched. They were wearing hoods and masks, and floating above them are four people, who seem to be levitated using magic. They're clearly being held in the air against their will, as they are struggling against their invisible bonds and look terrified. I turn to Arthur, who's behind me and looking in fear and fury at the hooded wizards.

"Those are…the Robertses! They're torturing the Muggles!" He hisses angrily. I grab his shoulder and tell him, "The kids! Get them to go somewhere safe!" He nods in response and ducks back inside the tent.

I survey the scene grimly and think of what might be the best course of action. I could have used kido to set the family free, but they were too high up – they would probably die if they fell from such a height. I chuckle bleakly – Ichimaru was right; this large congregation of people really was a big prize for magical terrorists. Gritting my teeth, I wade into the crowd, determined to fight.

_To be continued_

*I don't think it was specified if there was an actual HR office in the Ministry of Magic, but such offices are pretty commonplace in organisations. So it's likely that the Ministry has one as well.

This chapter contains a little bit of text copied directly from _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_.


	12. It's A Bad Idea

The Next Great Adventure

Some of the spells used in this chapter may be unfamiliar, so an explanation will be provided at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 12: It's a bad idea

Hermione Granger's Point of View

Whew! The Quidditch World Cup match had been exciting, but tiring as well. And the after-game chatter about the match went on for hours, with everyone else heatedly discussing the match and Quidditch in general. Thank God for the presence of Mr. Kurosaki, who was the only person other than me who wasn't a sports enthusiast. After a while, we all went straight to bed on Mr. Weasley's prompt, as it was pretty late. The cheers of the Irish fans went on for a long time, but the thick canvas covering of our tent did a good job blocking our most of the noise.

Then, suddenly, things took an unexpected turn – Mr. Weasley hurriedly woke up me and Ginny and ordered us out. When the two of us exited the girls' room in the tent, we met up with the boys outside. Mr. Weasley didn't have to explain what was wrong – we could tell from the screams and noises outside that something was amiss. My mind began thinking of the possibilities. A fire? A big accident? A riot? We got a clearer picture once we stepped out – it was a riot indeed. There was a large group of hooded wizards moving in a tight formation. High above them was the family of Muggles we had seen earlier – Mr. Roberts, his wife and children – and they were being suspended by magic. Clearly, it was the work of the wizards in masks and hoods.

"That's sick…that's really sick!" commented Ron, as the smallest child began spinning like a top. One could tell by his silence that he was unconscious. We were soon joined by Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie and Percy. They were fully dressed and their wands were out.

"We're going to help the Ministry!" Mr. Weasley shouted over the din of the crowd. "You lot – get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"

"But – " I protested, frozen in fear as the adults left, sprinting towards the hooded wizards. Luckily, Harry had more sense and grabbed my hand as well as Ron's.

"C'mon! Let's go!" We tore off towards the wood with Fred, George and Ginny, who were slightly ahead of us. Soon, we had entered the forest, which gave us a degree of shelter. Suddenly, Ron tripped – as the other three kept going forward, Harry and I stayed behind and helped him up.

"Damn! Tripped over a root!"

"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," someone drawled behind us. We whipped around and came face to face with Draco Malfoy. He was calmly observing the scene from a safe place. Upon noticing his apathy to the situation, Ron cursed at him crudely.

"Language, Weasley," said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?"

He nodded at me as he said that. "What do you mean by that?" I demanded.

"Granger, they're after Muggles," said Malfoy. "D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around…they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."

Before the boys or I could retort, I heard a familiar shout from some distance back – It was Fred! There was a cry of pain from nearby following that. Ignoring the delighted hoots of laughter from Malfoy, I grabbed the boys' hands and hurried off towards them. Soon, I got to others. One of the twins was lying on the floor, clutching his belly and softly groaning in pain.

"Fred! No – George! What happened?"

An answer was unnecessary. It was clear that a spell had just hit him and caused a cut on his stomach. I couldn't see it too clearly since it was covered in blood and because it was dark, but it seemed serious. Despite his condition, he struggled to his feet and lurched towards the edge of the forest nearby.

"George, don't! You've got to stay in the woods!" Ron shouted, dragging him back. Gathering my wits quickly, I pushed my fear aside and took off my jacket to wrap around his wound.

"Oh my God! It's Fred! And Ginny!" I shouted, pointing at where George was headed. For some reason, Fred and Ginny were outside and right in the path of the hooded wizards. Fred seemed injured as well and Ginny was leaning over him, looking back and forth at his wound and at the hooded wizards, a mix of fear and defiance written all over her features.

Harry plunged his hand into his pocket, reaching for his wand, but he suddenly pulled his hand out and swore. "My wand's gone!"

"What? Gone? Must have fallen somewhere!"

"George, lend me your wand! I'll go and get them back!" Harry demanded. George had no choice but to comply – he was in too much pain to move properly. Ron loyally stood by Harry, ready to follow him out of the woods to bring back Fred and Ginny.

"Wait! You can't go out there! It's madness!" I protest.

"But we've got to! Fred and Ginny are right in front of them!"

Someone else suddenly shouts, "Stay back! I'll go!" It's Mr. Kurosaki! He runs towards us from where we just came from. He presses a medical kit into my shaking hands. "Here, use that! Harry, Ron, you guys stay back and assist. I'll go get Fred and Ginny back!"

The boys breathe a sigh of relief – they'd really been scared! Chuckling weakly at their deflated heroism, I opened the kit and got to work on George, with what little First Aid I knew.

Ichigo's Point of View

It was a good thing that I'd found the others quickly – after setting off, I'd run over to a medical tent to retrieve a kit, which was why I'd been delayed. But now, it was really time to fight – with the hooded wizards so close to Fred and Ginny, there was hardly any choice but to defend them and then fight back, rather than just run. The wizards pointed their wands straight at the pair. No time to fight – I had to defend them first.

I bound over to them and pull them closer to me, turning my back to the 'terrorists', and with the kids in front of me. To defend myself, I pump up as much reiatsu as I can while in my human body behind me to reinforce my back.

"_Stupefy!_"

"_Diffindo!_"

"_Petrificus Totalus!_"

A few more spells I can't recognise are spat out at us. Luckily, I don't hear any of the three unforgivable curses, which I'd read up on the previous year. A total of seven, maybe eight, spells hit my back, causing me to lurch forward in pain – while the shield blocked the effects of the spell, they still slammed into my back like a battering ram, with their combined effect. Luckily, my impromptu shield held and I didn't fall unconscious or get cuts on my body. I looked at Ginny and barked, "Into the forest! Go!"

She looked at me uncertainly, but I didn't have to tell her twice. She helped her brother up and supported her all the way back to the forest. I smiled at her determination and willpower as the two got back, then faced the terrorists. They were staring at me, but hadn't taken action yet. They didn't know how to react to a person who had just blocked a bunch of spells without a wand. But I was apprehensive too – My reiatsu had taken a hit with that shield, and I couldn't fight such a large group with my limited knowledge of magic either. A few ministry wizards had appeared, but they were too few.

"_I've got a solution, Ichigo!_" a voice cackles. I stiffen – I'm the only one who can hear this voice, for it is the voice of my inner Hollow.

"What?" I demand. There's a time and place for a conversation like this!

"_Remember the last time you were taken over by Hollow reiatsu? Wanna try it again?_"

To my surprise, I'm seriously considering the idea – Mainly because the last time, the Hollow wasn't directly responsible. I'd let my subconscious take over at Hogwarts months ago, and the Hollow reiatsu had taken over without me realising. In fact, the Hollow was the one to bring me back to my senses by possessing me and taking control of the runaway hollow reiatsu. A repeat wouldn't be _that_ bad…right?

"_Not a good idea, Ichigo_," Zangetsu cautions.

"Yeah, but I think I'll do it anyway," I tell him mentally, "Zangetsu – be ready to pump my body up with Shinigami reiatsu at a moment's notice – that'll counteract the Hollow reiatsu, right?"

"Yes,"

"Good. Release it when you feel it's necessary. Alright! Let's do it!"

The familiar Hollow reiatsu worked its way through my system, up my spinal cord, and into my brain. The last thing I remember is vaguely thinking '_This is such a bad idea_' before I blacked out.

Third Person Narrator's Point of View

Ginny managed to make it back to the forest while supporting Fred. Both remained unscathed, somehow, and rejoined their friends.

"Oh my gosh – George! How is he?" Ginny asked frantically.

"He'll be fine! We've got the first aid kit here! Harry, Ron, help me out here!"

But the boys didn't budge. They kept staring at Ichigo from the woods.

"Hermione – you've got to see this! Something's happening to Kurosaki!"

Tentatively, Hermione looked up from her work and gasped in shock. Ichigo was standing up, with his back hunched slightly. There was a dark purple aura around him and his fingers were clenching slowly. He held up his wand, stared at it, and suddenly tossed it away.

"No way! Is he trying to take them on unarmed?"

"What a fool," came a condescending voice. Everyone whipped around to find that Malfoy had just joined them. He kept his distance, with his arms folded. Wands were immediately pointed at him, and he took a few steps away.

"Without magic, he just threw away his lifeline,"

Harry cautioned, "Have you even seen how strong he is? I saw him stop the branches of the Whomping Willow with just one hand a few weeks ago!"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow, but kept silent and turned back to the scene outside the woods, where Ichigo now stood straight. With his back still turned to Harry and his friends, he marched forward to the hooded wizards. Upon seeing him, the wizards raised their wands and frenziedly shot spells at him. But he simply held up a hand and formed an invisible shield of reiatsu to deflect the spells. Spellwork was simply a matter of manipulating reiatsu for various purposes, so a wall of solid reiatsu generated by a full-fledged captain-level Shinigami was able to block the spells effortlessly. Ichigo steadily advanced, and a small grin formed on his face, unnerving the hooded wizards. As they edged back nervously, continuously blasting spells, getting more and more desperate at the orange-haired teenager who was approaching, swatting away spells with his bare hands like they were nothing. Finally, one of them lost his nerve.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

In response to this, Ichigo whipped off his hoodie and tossed it at the incoming jet of green light, while ducking out of the way. Instantly, the hoodie burned up in a brilliant green flame, and Ichigo was left unharmed. The wizard who had cast the killing curse gasped and whimpered in fear as Ichigo ran straight for him. Everyone froze up as the wild-eyed teenager sped towards them, and before anyone could cast another spell, Ichigo had grabbed that particular man by his hand and throat. Ichigo twisted his hand, forcing the wizard to let go of his wand, then ripped off his mask, revealing the terrified visage of a middle-aged man with brown hair and blue eyes. His fingers immediately went for the wizard's face and gouged into his eyeballs. As the wizard fell to the floor, screaming in pain and clutching his bloody eyes, Ichigo moved on to the next one immediately and punched him hard, dislodging his jaw permanently, even though it had been protected by his mask. He kept going, bloodying his hands, but his luck had run out by the time he was done with the fourth wizard. The 'terrorists' finally worked out what to do: they crowded around him and all cast a spell at the same time.

"_Stupefy!_"

"_Petrificus Totalus!_"

"_Incarcerous!_"

"_Flipendo!_"

"_Incendio!_"

All these were cast multiple times and by multiple wizards. Ichigo grunted out in pain. Even he had a hard time keeping out so many spells, of such a large variety. But his luck hadn't abandoned him yet – at that moment, a massive symbol appeared in the sky. It was a large green skull, with a snake protruding from its mouth. Upon seeing it, the hooded wizards panicked and after a few seconds of looking to one another for some instruction on what to do, they threw up their figurative arms in resignation and simply disapparated. At the same time, Zangetsu decided to bring Ichigo back, and started pumping his body with Shinigami reiatsu to counteract the Hollow reiatsu. Now that he had a means to end the influence of Hollow reiatsu, he didn't have to get the Hollow to personally possess Ichigo. However, his decision had an unexpected drawback. In the fraction of a second that Ichigo reverted to his usual self, he reflexively lowered the reiatsu shield around himself. The spells instantly took effect. His body froze up under the full-body binding curse, _Petrificus Totalus_. Tight ropes bound him up further via _Incarcerous_. He lost consciousness with _Stupefy_. It was a small miracle that of all the twenty-odd spells that hit him, all the _Incendio _spells had no effect.

Ministry wizards promptly swarmed the scene.

"This orange bloke – is he one of _them_?"

"No, he was fighting them! He's probably a bystander, or with the ministry! Damn – look at the state he's in!"

"Is he still alive?"

"Yeah – Mediwizards! Here!…Wait, look! There's someone still in the woods!"

"Get them!"

Harry, who'd been watching the scene in silent shock from the woods, was jolted back to his senses. He grabbed as many of his friends as he could and shouted, "_Duck!_"

Everyone fell to the floor and flattened themselves against it.

"_Stupefy!_"

"STOP IT! That's my son!" someone yelled, hurrying up to the line of ministry wizards who had just cast several stunning spells into the woods at where Harry and the rest were standing. It was Arthur Weasley. Harry and the others quickly stood up and moved forward, so that they could be seen clearly by everyone around.

"Harry! Hermione! Ron, everyone, are you alright?" Mr. Weasley asked in a concerned tone.

"We're fine!" Hermione shrilled, "What about Mr. Kurosaki?"

Several mediwizards had already clustered around the prone form of Ichigo and had begun applying counter curses and healing spells to undo the damage suffered by his body.

"Don't worry; he'll be fine," one of them said tightly before conjuring up a stretcher to bring him away. Other wizards came over to take Fred and George away as well. Arthur frantically asked them a few questions before saying a few words to his sons and seeing them off. As much as he wanted to be by their side, he had to stay and help Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny out of trouble and to defend them, for they had been discovered at the crime scene.

Ichigo's Point of View

When I came to, I realised that I was within my inner world now. I looked around and everything looked exactly the same as it usually is – except Zangetsu and the Hollow are missing. It worried me, but I decided not to go look for them yet. They wouldn't go anywhere. Besides, I had a gut feeling that something big had changed, and it wasn't their sudden disappearance. I decided to go and take a look around – starting with the interior of the building I was in. Breaking one of the windows, I climbed in carefully. Gravity acted in a sideways direction outside the buildings, but strangely, it worked normally inside the buildings. Sometimes, if I had a lot of things to discuss with Zangetsu, we'd get into the buildings 'cause it was more comfortable than me standing outside (and him standing perched on a pole, of all things). The first building seemed alright. There were no people inside the building, but all the floors were fully stocked with office supplies and even had personalised offices and cubicles. There was even an empty receptionist's desk in the atrium, on the ground floor. Leaving this normal building, I decided to look for Zangetsu.

"ZANGETSU! WHERE THE _HELL_ ARE YOU?"

As if in response to my shout, I felt a small pulse of reiatsu somewhere, and ran towards it promptly. The trail led to a small building. I gasped when I saw it; it was a perfect replica of my home. The small house, with the clinic attached. When I stepped inside and experienced normal gravity again, I slowly walked through it, looking around in awe. I used to drop in so frequently, but I'd never even noticed that there was such a building in this city of skyscrapers that looked nothing like Karakura Town. The clinic had the same desk that my dad used in the real world, and the cabinets contained the same drugs and instruments. Next, I went to Karin and Yuzu's room – it was the same too. As for dad's room…I'll just skip it. It's probably normal. Besides, I don't even want to know what my perverted dad keeps in his room! I move on straight to my own room. If this was a movie, the dramatic music would be playing now. I slowly twist the doorknob, open the door and step inside.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It's normal.

Damn it! My shoulders slump in frustration. I was expecting this room to be a crime scene, providing clues to the missing Zangetsu and Hollow. Oh well.

But wait! Some things _are_ different! I go over to the table. In the real world, I keep a family photo, and there's a notebook which I use to quickly record notes for council, homework, or to use as simple memos. In this version of my room, the photo shows me, Zangetsu and the Hollow. The Hollow is sneering insanely as usual, Zangetsu looks like he's trying desperately to win a poker game, and I'm as usual – with a scowl. When the hell did we even take that photo, though? I open the notebook. The same notebook's pages in real life are filled out fully, and I only had a few empty pages left. This one in my hands now is the opposite: it's empty, except for the last page. This is what was written on the last page:

_Told you it was a bad idea. Brace yourself – you're going to be in severe pain very soon. Go get painkillers from the clinic and give yourself a shot once you feel the slightest pain. – Zangetsu_

My hands started trembling slightly. The handwriting was messy and there was a clear slant – indicating that Zangetsu had grabbed a paper hastily and scrawled what he could with limited time. Just below Zangetsu's message, there was one more message – from the Hollow. I had to read the signature again to confirm it really was from him – who knew the bastard had such neat handwriting! His message said:

_I recommend the Lortab. I think Zangetsu's high. Or am I the one who's high? He just freaking disappeared! Damn it all!_ [Some dirty words that I'll just ignore] _All your fault! If we die, I'm gonna freaking kill you! – Your other self_

I frown at it in displeasure. Getting high was unbecoming of the stoic Zangetsu…I had to see it someday! But there were more pressing problems. There's a strange ticklish sensation in my back. I scratch it absent-mindedly, then my eyes widen. I drop the notebook, get out of my room and bound down the stairs to the clinic. Opening every cabinet, I finally find a small bottle of Vicodin™ and open it. Just as I prepare to pop the first pill into my mouth, I notice the sensation is gone. Ok…gotta calm down…there's no pain like Zangetsu suggested. After standing in the clinic looking like an idiot with Vicodin in my hand, there's still no pain. I pocket the bottle and run out of the clinic.

Zangetsu and the Hollow have both disappeared – where to? They wouldn't have materialised, as I'd be able to feel their presence outside, and because the Hollow _can't _materialise anyway. I run through the city again, scanning for reiatsu. Doing a thorough check reveals what I missed earlier – there's Hollow reiatsu on the ground. I definitely noticed it when I first stepped in, but I assumed it belonged to my inner Hollow. The reiatsu is receding, it's practically washing itself off the skyscrapers and the ground, like how water rolls off buildings and gathers on the streets and evaporates all the way. I'm surprised, but there's no reason to be – I just allowed myself to be possessed by Hollow reiatsu, and when it ended, the reiatsu should disappear.

At that moment, I feel another pulse of reiatsu. It's weak, but then, there's yet another pulse – it's stronger. I run towards it. It feels like Zangetsu! I soon end up at…the City Jail.

"Oh…you've gotta be kidding me – don't tell me they're in jail!"

I step inside the building. It's the same as all the other buildings – empty receptionist's desk. Why the hell is there such a desk in a _prison_ though? Without thinking too much about it, I find a door with a fingerprint scanner attached to it. Strangely, the scanner doesn't work, and the door opens with a simple push. Frowning, I walk in – there's a row of cells along a corridor, and at the end, there's a flight of stairs. All the cells in this floor are empty, so I go up to the second floor.

"Hello?" I shout.

"Hey, is that…" someone answers.

"Ichigo! Here!" a third voice yells. I run over to where I heard it – it's the third cell from the end. And inside it is Zangetsu, walking around in circles, looking very fidgety. He looks at me steadily.

"Told you it was a bad idea,"

I look over at the next cell…and frown in disapproval. The Hollow's inside, and he's lying on the ground, totally relaxed, and smoking a cigarette – where the hell did he get that from? I shake my head at him and point my finger at his face through the bars of his cell.

"_Hado #1: Sho!_"

"Hey! What the hell?" He shouts as his cigarette goes flying (and the spell also leaves an imprint on his face, like someone slapped him).

"No smoking in this world!" I snap before going back to Zangetsu's cell and trying to open it. Even bending the bars doesn't work.

"Nope. It won't open that easily," Zangetsu sighs. "This cell is nigh impenetrable."

"Tell me what happened,"

"The Hollow reiatsu imprisoned us," grumbles Zangetsu, scratching his head and walking around as he explains.

"You guys were in pain. What happened?" I ask softly. He stares at me and it feels like he's unsure of how to say it.

"Well…every Shinigami has his own inner world. Normally, the Zanpakuto is the only one to be inside this world. You're different; you've got me, and the Hollow. When you tried to add Hollow reiatsu to the mix, it reacted badly and tried to force me and the Hollow out of existence. Luckily, that's impossible – we ended up here instead. Only, the process caused great pain. I don't know why, though,"

Damn it all. The extra power was so not worth it. I shake my head and sigh.

"I'm sorry, Zangetsu. It was a bad idea. I shouldn't have done it,"

"Yeah! Since when was it ever a good idea to let yourself get possessed?" Zangetsu snaps. I scratch the back of my head uncomfortably. Zangetsu always _advised_ me, never _lectured_ or _scolded_ me. I shrug, not knowing what else to do. Hopelessly, I reach into my pocket and take out the bottle of Vicodin.

"Umm…want some Lortab?"

He pounces, "Hell yes!" and grabs the bottle to take two pills and pop it into his mouth.

"You're the best, man!" he says reaching through the bars of the cell and clapping my shoulder. I smile uncomfortably at his _very_ uncharacteristic behaviour. Hopefully he'll go back to his enigmatic old self soon.

"Ok…so tell me what happened this time,"

"Right – you just defended yourself with a shield of reiatsu, then you proceeded to maim them. I think about four got permanently dislodged jaws, one went blind, two got dislocated shoulders…and one can probably forget about celebrating Fathers' Day," the Hollow recounted, and I laughed out loud, despite myself. When the three of us had calmed down somewhat, I asked, "Ok, Zangetsu – you guys are stuck here and can't get out. What's that mean, really?"

"Its meaning? Oh – you won't be able to use Shikai for a week. As for Bankai, that'll take even longer. As for the mask? I don't know," he says flippantly.

"What? Then…how do I…"

"Fight? Well, you've got magic. And you've got your sealed sword. Just use those until you're fine to use Shikai or Bankai," Zangetsu says. Then, the Hollow says something.

"Or, just go to your dad and ask him to train you," he says. Zangetsu frowns and says, "Oh come on, we agreed to let him choose for himself,"

Oddly, his tone isn't annoyed or reproachful. He just seems to be reminding the Hollow of something.

"Wait – you guys knew about that?"

"Of course!" Zangetsu says. "Your dad told you about Engetsu, didn't he? Engetsu and I belong to a certain family of Zanpakuto. When you get married and have children of your own, that child's Zanpakuto will come from this family,"

"Don't you mean 'if' he gets married?" the Hollow sneers. Zangetsu cracks up, "Wall five!" and they high-five each other, except with the wall separating them. Damn. They _really_ are high!

"Oh yeah? You think _you_ can get a girl to marry you? Not with that skin tone, bro!"

"Hey! Leave my complexion out of this, bastard!"

Suddenly, Zangetsu is serious again. "That's enough! Now then, Ichigo, like I said, we're all from the same family of Zanpakuto – meaning we have similar characteristics. Your father's training will help you unlock my potential – if you choose to do it."

I pace the corridor and consider it.

"I don't think he'll do it," The Hollow mutters.

"You might just be right," Zangetsu concurs with the Hollow. "He usually refuses training – until he knows he needs it, then he barges into someone's home and demands it, like it's his birthright,"

The two guffaw stupidly, and a vein pops in my forehead. Why am I being mocked by this pair of idiots! Zangetsu! This isn't _you_! As for the Hollow – well, he's perfectly normal, which is annoying.

"Ok! I'll do it! If that training can free you guys from this…prison, I'll go to my dad and tell him to train me! God!" I swear at them and run out of the prison so I can get out of my inner world.

"He is too easy," I hear the Hollow cackle behind my back. I flip him off before exiting my inner world.

Third Person Narrator's Point of View

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Arthur, Ron and Ginny Weasley looked forlorn as they walked back to their tents. The events of the past hour had been tumultuous, to say the least. First, Ichigo had been hit by a multitude of spells after confronting the hooded wizards, and he was totally unconscious. Arthur had been assured that he, along with Fred and George, would be alright and that the three of them would be brought to the Weasleys' tent when the mediwizards were done, so they were hurrying over to the tents quickly.

Secondly, the hooded wizards had all escaped. There were some who had been given grievous injuries. Harry reckoned at least four had permanently dislodged jaws and at least one would be blind for the rest of his life. Those who were injured had been grabbed by their uninjured comrades and taken away by side-along apparition. Hermione had reasoned that they had done it so that nobody would be captured and forced to reveal the names of the other 'terrorists' under interrogation.

The third event was the worst of all. There had been a long discussion in the clearing over who was the culprit. Amos Diggory was convinced that Bartemius Crouch's elf, Winky was responsible for casting the symbol in the sky, the Dark Mark (the symbol of Lord Voldemort), because she had been caught with a wand, which was proven to have been the wand used to cast the Mark. On the other hand, Arthur Weasley was sceptical, given that only a few wizards knew how to cast the Mark, and that Winky couldn't possibly have learned it because her master was a staunch enemy of the dark arts.

Ultimately, the verdict was that Winky was innocent – that she had simply stumbled upon a wand that had been dropped on the ground and picked up. The wand actually belonged to Harry Potter, but since there was no way he could have cast it, it was determined that the culprit found his wand and cast the spell with it before tossing it away, at which point Winky found it. That should have been the end of the matter, but unfortunately, Winky was deemed by Crouch to have let him down by failing to keep to his extremely high standards. As a result, he dismissed her from his service by presenting her with clothes.

Harry had witnessed such a presentation before, when Lucius Malfoy unwittingly gave his former servant Dobby a sock, freeing him. Dobby had been happy and enjoyed his freedom, but Winky was the opposite. She had been horrified at the prospect of losing her job and begged Crouch to reconsider (he did not). Harry suspected she was still in the same clearing, wailing her eyes out. Hermione was indignant, and wanted to stay behind. Nobody knew what she wanted to do, or what she could do in that situation, but Arthur badly wanted to go back to the tent to check up on his sons and Ichigo.

"So, what exactly happened?" He questioned Ginny.

"George was already in the clearing, but Fred and I were delayed 'cause he tripped. That's when Fred was hit. George ran out, but he was hit too,"

"What happened after that?"

"That friend of yours – Mr. Kurosaki – he came along. He defended us, then told us to get to safety,"

"He's _bloody_ scary," Ron remarked, shaking his head. "He took on those blokes without even using magic!"

"Without magic?" Arthur said sharply. "How did he fight without magic?"

"I dunno! Spells just bounced off him! He just got closer and used his bare hands to hit them!"

Arthur murmured, "He saved your lives," and the others nodded seriously.

After walking a short distance, they reached the tent. When they got in, they found that Ichigo was leaning back against the wall, and he seemed alright. One of the medical wizards had gotten a brown jacket for him to replace his old hoodie, and he was wearing that along with a new plain green T-shirt. He was holding his white shirt, which he had worn earlier, in his hand, and there were bloodstains on it, particularly on the cuffs. The older Weasley brothers, Bill and Charlie, were there as well. Both were tending to their own wounds, while keeping one eye on Ichigo, whom they were eyeing with bemusement and some confusion.

"Where are Fred and George?"

"They're fine, dad! They're in their room, sleeping," Bill said.

"Ichigo! I heard what happened from Fred – you saved my sons' lives! How could I ever thank – wait, are you alright? You look pretty…dazed," Arthur asked in concern, striding over to him. Ichigo turned to look at him. Bill answered on his behalf, "He's fine. They fixed all his physical wounds – except the leg. He'll have pain in that leg for a while because of a nasty cut, so they gave him a cane for it. It'll be fine in less than a week's time."

Ichigo grinned stupidly and said, "Hey, Arthur – who won?"

"Uhh…nobody won. They just packed up and left after seeing the Dark Mark – that's You-know-who's mark, by the way," Upon hearing this, Ichigo fist-pumped, and with his mouth covered, intoned, "Counter-terrorists win!"

"What?"

"It's nothing – just a gaming thing," Ichigo said, waving his hand dismissively. Hermione squinted at him and asked suspiciously, "Are you…drunk?"

Ichigo smiled at her, a little more seriously and said, "Nope. Not really drunk. It's just an effect of the painkillers they gave. It'll soon wear off. But there's somewhere I have to be – Arthur, tell me where I am so I can get out of here,"

Looking troubled, Arthur said, "Get out of here? Already? Look – we're staying till tomorrow so we can get a portkey back home. Why don't you just stick with us? You can stop by my home and rest for a while – it's closer to London than here. Besides, my wife would love to meet you!"

"Besides, why'd you need to know where 'here' is to get out?" Ginny asked, amused.

"So I know which direction to go, smarty!" Ichigo snapped, causing Ginny to look away, embarrassed. Ichigo sighed and turned back to Arthur. "I guess you're right. I can't do much today. But let me make a few phone calls first,"

"Sure, go ahead," Arthur smiled.

"But wait – I want an explanation first. What happened after I passed out?" Ichigo asked, pausing on his way out.

Arthur said, "Somebody conjured the Dark Mark, the symbol of You-Know-Who. The hooded wizards left at that point,"

Hermione contributed, "Y'know, I thought they were Death Eaters – why'd they run after seeing their old master's sign?"

Bill laughed humourlessly. "Many former Death Eaters used their money and influence to avoid getting sent to Azkaban. They sold out their former comrades, generally publicly denounced You-Know-Who. So now they're afraid of him. If he ever returns to power, they'll have to face the music. So they ran when they saw the Mark,"

Ichigo nodded in understanding. He had already found out that Death Eaters were to Voldemort what the arrancar were to Aizen. After all, the situation between Aizen and his former servants was similar to the relationship between Voldemort and his followers. The only difference was that the arrancar had been betrayed by their leader. "_The only reason Aizen didn't go back to Hueco Mundo for a recruitment drive was that he'd get a very chilly reception upon stepping foot back there_," Ichigo thought. "_Perhaps accompanied by a dozen swords through his body._" Dismissing the morbidly entertaining thought, he said, "Every single one escaped? I'm guessing some were…not in any condition to move," rubbing his neck uncomfortably, not sure of how the others felt about his loss of control.

Ron and Harry shook their heads.

"You were absolutely _brutal_!" Harry muttered. "But they just grabbed their injured and ran,"

"Probably not to leave anyone who could possibly give away the others' names," Bill muttered, getting a nod of agreement from Hermione. "Hey Ichigo – did you really kick a guy in the – "

"Yes!" Ichigo said, with an air of finality. He was not proud of it. This is the one thing you should never do to a guy, after all, unless he _really_ deserves it.

All the men winced.

"Umm…can I go and make my phone call now?"

"Yeah…by all means,"

"And Arthur, where is your house?"

"It's in Devon – on the outskirts of a village called Ottery St. Catchpole,"

"Great. I'll get a friend to pick me up tomorrow. Oh – you'll finally see that car you've been asking me about all summer!"

"Yes!" Arthur fist-pumped while Ichigo grinned and walked out of the tent.

Ichigo's Point of View

When I left my inner world earlier, I woke up on a bed. There were medics attending to me, and they told me I'd been struck by multiple spells. One of them gave me a cane and helped me walk back to the tent where I was waiting for Arthur to come back. I had had plenty of time to think through what had just happened. Even if it may have looked like I was giving in to pressure to Zangetsu and the Hollow earlier when I agreed to their demands, I meant what I said – I really was going to my dad and getting training from him as soon as I could. I had never really been opposed to the idea in the first place anyway. I'd been busy with my new job. The silly thing was that the job was fake, but the money I got from it was real, and it was good money when you consider it came on top of my salary from the Gotei-13. *Fist pump*.

But getting back on track, I now had time for training. If Ichimaru and Kira had kept on schedule yesterday, they would have finished combing Ministry Headquarters for information, so going back there would be meaningless. Ichimaru and I would quit our jobs and the Ministry would never hear from us again. The Hogwarts library was next. Ichimaru had done his research and found that the library was full of books from a very long time period, so we might find something useful there.

I make the first call – to Ichimaru.

"Hello? Ichimaru? How'd your search go?"

"Well…we found interesting information, but most of it was irrelevant, and we found absolutely nothing on Horcruxes." His voice takes on a sour tone, "How went the game?"

I chuckle hollowly. "You were actually right, you know that? There really was a terrorist attack,"

"What? There was? Tell me about it!"

"Ireland won the match, and amidst the celebrations, there comes this bunch of wizards. They were terrorising some of the ordinary people here, and generally cursing those who got in their way,"

"Who were they?"

"Dunno. They all escaped. My colleague thinks it was a bunch of Death Eaters, but we don't know for sure,"

"Is that so? D'you think Voldemort may be coming back to power? We used to think he was dead, but we both know from experience that some enemies simply refuse to die! And more tellingly, they didn't find his corpse!"

"Maybe…but unlikely," I say thoughtfully. "Earlier, some guy went and cast a spell that showed Voldemort's symbol in the sky. When they saw it, those guys panicked and ran,"

"So they were afraid of him too? Well…the great comeback seems less likely now, I guess,"

"Yeah – it's either no comeback, or a comeback without any loyal followers. But enough of that – how'd things go on your side?"

"Like I said – "

"No no – I meant with Kira."

"Oh. That. Well, it was weird. He was kinda hellbent on doing nothing but work. Didn't talk to me at all about anything other than the mission,"

"Oh…that must've been awkward. Look, I promised Kira I'd treat him and you to some drinks so you could catch up. Wanna go to Diagon Alley? I've got, like, 50 Galleons to spend." Actually, the truth is, I've got much more than that from my Ministry pay. They paid me 10 Sickles and 3 Knuts per hour, which was equal to 6 Great British Pounds – reasonable pay for an entry level HR assistant. Since I'd worked for ten weeks in total, my total pay was 238 Galleons and 5 Sickles. But I wasn't going to spend all that on drinks!

"What? You sure?" he sounds incredulous.

"Of course! You guys deserve it – since you worked so hard!" I chuckle.

"Sure! What time?"

"Ok, let's see. Meet you at the Leaky Cauldron at say, 8 pm?"

"It's on!"

I end the first call and start the second one – to Rukia.

"Hello? Ichigo?"

"Hey, Rukia!"

"Where the hell are you? You were supposed to be back hours ago!"

Crap. I'm in trouble! "Umm, yeah, I know. I'm sorry, Rukia, but something happened. I'm not even in London now, actually, and it'll take me a while to get back. Look, have you got your school books and everything yet?"

"No! And don't try to change the subject!"

"I'm not changing the subject! I've got lots to tell you, and I can't do it over the phone. I want to meet you in person. What say we go to Diagon Alley tomorrow and talk after getting your dress robes and books?"

"Oh," she suddenly doesn't sound so angry. Now I know where my remaining 188 Galleons and 5 Sickles are going. She says, "Well, ok then. But you'd better have a good explanation!"

"Great. I'll take you and Hinamori there tomorrow morning. By the way, could you take down a couple of notes? I've got something to say to Kira and Hisagi-san,"

"Hold on," she gets a pen and paper. "Ok, go on,"

"Tell Kira to keep his schedule free tomorrow evening. And for Hisagi-san, tell him to take the car and see me in a village named Ottery St. Catchpole, in Devon. Tomorrow morning,"

"Ok, got it. When'll you be back?"

"Sometime tomorrow afternoon. We'll have lunch at home, then go to Diagon Alley, ok?"

"Ok, sure. Good night, Ichigo,"

"Good night, Rukia. Sweet dreams,"

With that, I go back into the tent and fall asleep promptly in a sleeping bag Arthur conjures up.

The next day

We go back to Arthur's house, a cottage named the Burrow. A portly woman with flaming red hair comes out to greet us as we walk to the house from the hill where the portkey landed us. I was lagging behind slightly, since I was helping to carry the tents. The woman promptly hugs her children with gusto – understandable, considering they almost died the previous night. She then turns to me and smiles.

"Hello! I'm Molly Weasley!"

"Ichigo Kurosaki. I'm Arthur's co-worker."

"Co-worker? But you're so young!" she gushes. It's true – I don't look like a working adult, especially not one who's associated with government work. We step into the small but cosy house.

"Yeah – I started work at the Ministry recently," I comment. I didn't say that yesterday was also my last day at work. "Are your kids looking forward to the new year? I hear something amazing is in store for them,"

She smiles secretively, "Oh yes! They've got their dress robes and books! But it's – "

"A secret, yeah I know," I overhear Ron whispering furiously to Hermione 'What the _hell_ is talking about?' and chuckle. Even the resident genius doesn't know. Ginny slows down to walk next to me and asks, "Hey, Mr. Kurosaki – "

"Ichigo,"

"Oh, right. Ichigo – have Rukia and Momo got their stuff yet?"

"Nope. I'm gonna go with them later today. Have they been writing to you over the summer?"

"Yeah! I heard Rukia just got a new boyfriend! How's he like?"

Damn. I couldn't tell her it was _me_ 'cause she thought Rukia was 13 and I was 19.

"Umm…well. I haven't met him yet. She's a very private person," I lie.

"Oh. That's too bad. Looks like we won't be meeting him then," She pouts. "Hey, you used to work at Hogwarts – d'you know why we need dress robes?"

"That's classified information," I deadpan. "Dress robes are for formal occasions, though. You can guess as to what it is,"

"So…there'll be a formal event?"

"I guess so. But don't dwell on it so much. Dumbledore wants to surprise you guys,"

It was later that day that I found out what dress robes _really_ look like. Rummaging through his school stuff, Ron found something.

"Mum! I think you've slipped me Ginny's new dress by accident!" he shouted. I was in his room along with Harry and Hermione – the three of them had asked me to join them, ostensibly to discuss the new school term, but really they just wanted to talk about Sirius Black. Molly walked upstairs and frowned at the horrible lacy red…dress, for want of a better word. That didn't look like anything a man would wear (unless he was a cross-dresser). I took it from him and held it up.

"Wait, Mrs Weasley – are those his…"

"Dress robes, yes," Mrs Weasley said casually. I stifled a laugh while Ron gaped at his mother.

"You've got to be kidding. I'm not wearing that, no way!" he protested.

"Everyone wears them, Ron! This is what dress robes are like!"

While they argued, I frowned at Harry, who surreptitiously opened a parcel on his bed to find his own dress robes – his were more…acceptable.

"These aren't too bad," he says to me.

"It still looks like a dress, though. You know what? I'm just gonna stick with a suit. That's much safer than…this," I pull a face.

"Why'd you need dress robes? Or a suit?" he snorts. "Wait – you're coming?"

I shrug. "Dumbledore invited me over for Christmas,"

Before he can probe me further, I hear a low-pitched growl from the distance.

"Oh, look. My ride's here,"

"Your what?" everyone asks in surprise.

"My friend's here with the car,"

"Oh! Well, let's go meet him, then!" Mrs Weasley says, and we all go downstairs. Arthur has already stepped out of the house to greet Hisagi, and they seem to be talking animatedly about the car.

"Was that your escape vehicle?" Ron asks.

"Yup. Hey Hisagi!" I greet my fellow captain-nominee, who's dressed in a sleeveless T-shirt and a sleeveless hoodie, with jeans.

"Ichigo! Hey!" he greets me and we shake hands.

Mrs Weasley greets him happily. "Shuhei, was it? Why don't you come inside for a bit?"

"Oh, sorry, but we've got to go. Both of us are have a tight schedule today," Hisagi says regretfully.

"Oh, that's too bad then,"

I turn to Arthur and shake his hand. "Arthur…thanks for everything,"

"No problems mate! Good luck job hunting!" He smiles at me. I'd already made it clear a long time ago that my stint at the Ministry was only a summer job, so he knew I would be quitting in late August.

I wave at Harry and the others. "Take care!" and they wave back as we drive off back to London.

"Kuchiki was flipping mad at you for not coming back on time yesterday," Hisagi commented.

"Uhh well…I promised to take her out shopping today, so I guess things aren't so bad," I chuckle nervously.

"It's been so many weeks, but I'm still surprised you got together with her," he comments.

"Really? Hinamori wasn't surprised at all,"

"Yeah well, she's a hopeless romantic – she must have seen it coming," he says offhandedly. I raise an eyebrow at him and he panics. "Oh my God – don't tell her I said that! She hates being called a romantic, even if she is one. And she can really pack a punch with magic,"

I chuckle at his distress. He suddenly frowns.

"What's wrong?"

"Speaking of Kuchiki…how did her brother take the news?"

What? When the question registers, I laugh out loud.

"Oh, there's a funny story behind that! I called up Byakuya the very next day, y'know,"

"You've kept this from us all summer?" he snaps. "Tell me what Captain Poker Face said!"

"Well…you know," I say slowly, trying to build up suspense. "He thanked me,"

"What?"

"And then he said that while he supports the decision, he would have preferred it if I had proposed to her in Japan."

"Wait – he thinks you were asking her to marry you? And he thanked you for it?" he hoots with laughter, and I join in. It was true, Byakuya really did think I had asked Rukia to marry me.

"After I'd calmed down, I told him I was not intending to marry his sister. He was confused. If I wasn't gonna marry her, then what was this all about? So I told him that I was 'entering a relationship with her' and that telling him was simply the polite thing to do,"

"What'd he say to that?"

"He was surprised, but said it was ok,"

"What? Just like that?"

"Yeah," I frown at him. "Just in case you haven't realised, the man doesn't hate me. That's why he thanked me. He thinks this is good for Rukia,"

"Really? That's what he thinks? This man who tried to protect her by preventing her from getting promoted?"

"I know what you're getting at. You think he'd want to protect her even from relationships like this,"

"Well, yes. It's not exactly hard to imagine him thinking like that," Hisagi says.

"You're behind the times, man!" I chuckle. He glances at me in confusion.

"Byakuya would've done that more than three years ago. That time, he was only concerned with protecting Rukia's life. And he did a good job of it, better than anyone else."

"But…" Hisagi leaves the sentence hanging, prompting me to continue.

"_But_ he did a terrible job of taking care of her in general. He refused to let her get promoted, he shut her off from the only friend she had, and he also generally was cold towards her,"

"So what's changed now?"

"He's actually looking at her as a human being with her own aspirations and goals, and with her own life to lead. His decisions may be good, but you can't tell another adult what to do all the time. Rukia's got to make her own decisions and lead her own life the way she wants to. He's got to stop guiding her, and start trusting her. Once he understood that, they became much closer. Rukia does things herself, but still defers to Byakuya."

"I see," he says, looking impressed. "Wait…adult?"

"Yeah…I guess we are all adults now, eh?"

"Idiot! We were adults since a long time ago!" he smirks.

"Oh really? Then why'd you guys behave like kids so often?" I ask, falsely sweetly.

"Shut up!" we both laugh – childishly.

_To be continued_

Diffindo – a spell that cuts objects

Flipendo – a spell that pushes a person away

Incarcerous – binds the enemy with tight ropes

Incendio – conjures fire

Once again, some parts have been taken directly from _The Goblet of Fire_.


	13. Screams in the Dark

The Next Great Adventure

To aliestrikehero (really, to all readers), romance is going to be a very minor theme in this story. I was already stretching things by having one pairing. So there aren't going to be any further pairings other than the canon Harry Potter ones – and those will not be emphasised very much. My apologies, but romance is really not my strong point, and I'd prefer not to write more romance than what I feel is necessary.

But as to your other point regarding technology, I think you may be right about wizards not having the know-how to figure out muggle technology. They have magic and don't seem too interested in alternative approaches – that's why they don't _seriously_ try and block muggle technology, instead simply relying on the effects of magic to block phone signals. Starrk found a way around this problem by strengthening the signal to ensure that even with the interference of magic, a signal can be received.

To xxserafinxx, I'm sorry, but I can't drop the switching of points of view completely. I can reduce it, like I have in this chapter, but I can't drop it totally. Ichigo's the main character of this story, and it unfolds mainly through his eyes. But there are some things that Ichigo doesn't know about, and some events that Ichigo doesn't personally witness, and even some times when he's not in control of his faculties. That's why I switch to another character's perspective to talk about these events. That's why I feel it's necessary to switch Points of View now and then.

Of course, I can get around this problem by using third person perspective throughout, but I don't want to do that as using First Person narrative allows me to give a person's feelings and opinions on events, characters, etc. Since this story includes much content that can be found directly in the Harry Potter novels, I thought it would be more interesting to present those same events from the perspective of characters rather than simply use third-person narration, which would be similar to reading the novels themselves.

Chapter 13: Screams in the Dark

It is a truth universally acknowledged that men have a much easier time getting dressed for events like parties than women. And like so many men before me, the law was acting against my favour.

"Ichigo! How's this?" asks Rukia. She's holding up a light blue dress.

"Oh – it looks great!" I say, and Rukia frowns before saying, "You think so? I don't really like it, though…" and she runs off to pick another one.

Madam Malkin tut-tuts as she regards me.

"_Men_! You should take more of an interest in clothes, and in your women!"

"Are you calling me sloppy?" I raise an eyebrow at her from the wooden stool on which I'm seated. As much as I loved Rukia…I couldn't make myself more interested in this.

"No, I did not say that, dear. Truth be told, you're better dressed than most of the wizards who walk in wearing muggle clothing. I once had a man who walked in wearing a mini-skirt," She shuddered as I coughed, almost having spat out the water I had been drinking from my bottle.

"But are you sure you don't need robes for yourself?"

"Nope. I've already got my own formal clothes for the occasion," I refused casually. No way in hell was I gonna wear dress _robes_! "So…what's this Yule Ball thing all about anyway?"

"Sorry dear, I didn't catch that," she says busily, walking over to Hinamori to hand her something. When she comes back to where I'm seated, I repeat my question. She's so shocked, she almost drops a box of needles.

"The _Yule Ball_?" she asks in an incredulous whisper.

"Keep it down! They're not supposed to know!" I hiss. "But yeah – the Yule Ball. What's it about?"

"Well I never! After all this time, they decided to bring back the Triwizard Tournament! I suppose you know what that's about?"

"Yeah – Top three wizarding schools in Europe send a champion to compete against one another in a series of tasks, to win glory and prestige for themselves and their schools,"

"Yes, that just about sums it up. The Yule Ball is a traditional formal ball held during Christmas. The competition between schools is very great during the rest of the tournament, so one night is set aside for nothing more than bonding between people and socialising among the students and staff of each school. This is the night when everyone forgets about rivalries and has fun – or at least that's the idea behind it,"

"Is that so?" So it was essentially a formal party, but they had upped the romance value by calling it a 'ball' instead.

"So, why are they holding the Triwizard Tournament now, of all times?"

"Shh! It's supposed to be a secret! The Ministry decided to reinstate it, that's all. I don't know many details, I just heard about it while working there over the holidays,"

"I see. Well then, all the more reason to make sure those young ladies pick the best possible outfits for the big night! This is the first Tournament in hundreds of years; they simply have to look their best!" Madam Malkin positively purred with excitement. In the end, I was left out of the decision-making process. Rukia and Hinamori picked their dress robes themselves, making their choice after listening to Madam Malkin's advice – They kept their choices a secret from me saying they wanted to surprise me on Christmas. Had this happened another time and place, I would've been a little put off by their decision. But I had more important things on my mind.

Right now, Kira knows that I've been working with Ichimaru for a while. Obviously he hasn't told everyone about it – I know this because Toshiro would have talked to me about it if he had known. The Shinigami tolerate the presence of the Arrancar, and they don't think it was wrong of me to work with them – but that's because working with them yielded a positive result. It was thanks to their tip-off that we were able to foil Aizen's plan to capture Sirius Black. Of course, Sirius wouldn't have been of any use to Aizen even if he had been captured, but it still counted as a win for us, since we knew he was trying to form a link to Voldemort. We now knew beyond a shadow of doubt that we had to get more involved in the Wizarding society.

But working with Ichimaru was different. Nobody really liked him. Even I was only starting to warm up to him after our more than two months of working together. Everyone thought he was creepy and manipulative. Rangiku-san used to be in love with him, only to have him leave. I knew he did it for good reasons, but she probably felt differently about it. Kira also might have felt betrayed – hence his aloof manner when searching the Ministry records with Ichimaru. And besides, our joint work had yielded no positive results, at least not as far as I knew. The Shinigami would most likely frown on my decision, and I had no arguments to support my actions.

But still, I had to tell them about it. My reason for working with Ichimaru wasn't one that was based on solid logic, but I knew it was a good reason. Besides, it would be better for me to tell them personally rather than let them find out through Kira or someone. I had to explain things myself, being the one responsible. Hopefully they'll let me go through with the second part of Ichimaru's plan, the part which involved getting into Hogwarts and searching the library. But that was tomorrow's problem – literally. Tonight was just a visit to the bar with Kira and Ichimaru. I'll tell everyone tomorrow.

Pushing these thoughts out of my head, I started to think about the evening. I had asked Kira and Ichimaru to join me that evening just so they could have some closure. But before the two idiots got drunk in typical Division Three fashion, I had to find out exactly what had happened the previous day at the Ministry. So I'd arranged to meet Ichimaru for dinner at Machiavelli's Café so he could tell me everything that had happened.

The two of us sat at the usual table and ordered our food. As we ate, Ichimaru recounted the events of the previous day.

"So, Izuru and I followed the plan, with him taking on your position in the Records department. He told me he had gone through everything there and not found anything on Horcruxes."

"Nothing else he found interesting? Or relevant?"

"He…found quite a bit of info on the Triwizard Tournament," He reaches into his briefcase and pulls out some papers which have been stapled together. "He made copies of the parchments with a magic spell. Of course, conjured items like those will only last a short time, so we quickly photocopied the duplicates onto paper, to preserve the information. I don't think this contains every single detail, but there's a fair bit of info in there,"

"Thanks! I think we can find something useful there. Y'know, the tournament's gonna be held in Hogwarts. Maybe we can wait till everyone's distracted by the events and take the chance to search the library there,"

"Good idea. I'll leave that up to you. So much for what Izuru found," He then smiles creepily. "I personally think I got the more interesting part, though,"

"Oh? What'd you find?"

"I went to a place called the Department of Mysteries. It's the highest-security location in the ministry. Luckily, nobody saw me, since I was just a spirit. I didn't really find anything about Horcruxes, but I did find other interesting stuff." Here he scowled heavily – an odd expression for the ever-smiling fox.

He looks very reflective as he continues, "There are some things which people have been philosophising about for thousands of years. Wizards share those common human curiosities – but unlike muggles, they are able to use magic to research these things,"

"What sort of things are you talking about?" I ask, intrigued.

"Space, time…even conscious thought," he says. "You wouldn't believe the stuff in there. There was even one room dedicated to death. That was the creepiest of all,"

"_Death_? What could possibly be – "

He looks down, and his bangs cover his eyes. "There was a black arch, with a thin black veil covering the entrance of the arch. The veil…looked so thin, so delicate, but it was so dark, it obscured whatever was inside. I don't know what the arch was there for, or what was beyond the veil, but I felt compelled to run as soon as I looked at it. I was struggling against my own instincts to stay put instead of fleeing,"

"What'd you feel? Any reiatsu?"

"Nope. Ichigo-kun…have you ever come close to the Hogyoku and felt _its_ presence?"

"No…the only time I was close to the Hogyoku was when I fought Aizen…I didn't feel anything at that time,"

"Yeah, because you were too far from it at that time. When Aizen escaped to Hueco Mundo, one of the first things he did was to show us the Hogyoku close-up. And I mean _close-up_. The feeling is unforgettable…I felt as if it was trying to crush me – and not in a physical sense. It was trying to do away with my existence altogether – that's what it feels like. And the veil in the Ministry gave me the same feeling,"

A thought came to mind. "Would you say that the arch kills anyone who goes through it? Or touches it?"

He simply hums, thinking of something, then snaps his fingers and says, "Maybe. But what exactly do you mean by _death_?"

I frown at him. "Umm, that's obvious, isn't it? Death is when…" I break off, realising he has a valid point. He smiles at my realisation. Switching to Japanese, which has pretty much become our code language when discussing 'sensitive matters', he says, "To us Shinigami, death is when a soul goes to Soul Society. But that's a silly definition, isn't it? I'm a spirit, but I'm alive! I'm most certainly not in a state of death right now!"

"Yeah…I can see that,"

"The death of humans is taken very lightly by most Shinigami. We just see it as another soul joining Soul Society. And after staying in Soul Society for a while, the soul will reincarnate. Death is a very well-established transition point from one life to the next. But this veil was different. Going through it, or maybe touching it, isn't the same as transitioning to Soul Society. It's different. It's a sort of eternal death,"

"You mean…like being taken out of the cycle of death and rebirth? The same effect as being killed by a Quincy's arrow?"

"Something like that. I can't confirm that, and I don't want to either. Anyway, that's the first interesting fact about the Department of Mysteries,"

"That arch relates to death…are you gonna tell your superiors about it?" I quizzed.

"I already did. But they're not gonna do anything about it," Before I could protest, he says, "And I think that's the right decision. Think about it! The wizards have got this arch for a long time, and nothing has happened. What's the point in us intervening now? We'd probably just mess things up. And besides…what exactly gives us the right to intervene?"

"Well, because we're Shinigami!" I argue. He chuckles bleakly at my reply.

"Shinigami, huh? What an ironic name! Our forerunners, in their arrogance, called themselves Shinigami – Gods of Death. But we're barely in control of our own fates. We're not Gods, for crying out loud! What gives us the right, any more than these humans, to assert our perceived control over death?"

"Well, that's…" I struggle to argue. His points make perfect sense. Life and death are defined by Shinigami, and we never hesitate to 'set things right' when someone else starts to toy with them, like the Quincy 200 years back. They were wiping Hollows out completely, and so the Shinigami went to war against them. But the option of negotiation wasn't given much of a chance, even though it was viable. Damn it all! Is working in the Gotei-13 really worthwhile? Maybe I should just type out my résumé and ask Ichimaru to pass it on to his superiors!

But no. I can't back out at this point. The Gotei-13 may have made mistakes in the past, as they did with the Quincy and the Bount, but I can't keep focusing on that. Those mistakes were made long ago, and the Gotei has since wised up. I focus on our discussion again.

"Ok, Ichimaru. I see your point. I won't tell the others about the death room either. But did you find anything related to Horcruxes there? We know that a horcrux is something that's probably used to save a person from death – the death room seems the likely place to have such information,"

"No such luck," he says, shaking his head. "There were simply benches all around, like a stadium, and the arch was located on a dais in the centre of the room. There wasn't any information anywhere,"

"Ok…what about the other rooms?

"Sure! The space and time rooms are irrelevant; it's interesting from a philosophical perspective, but I won't go into that now. There was one other room that was locked tightly. I couldn't open it with magic, and I didn't want to use force either. So I let that room be and moved on to another room. That one was full of shelves containing small glass-looking balls. Those balls were labelled and all the labels followed this format: For example, L.K.Y. to W.K.W. – Obviously they're someone's initials. There was also a note attached in the format. Example: "Regarding John and Jacob", or something like that,"

"So…it was some kind of exchange between the people whose initials were recorded, and it concerned some third party?"

"Yeah, something like that," Ichimaru nods. "I have no idea what they really are, though. I couldn't even touch them?"

"What?" I chuckle. "How can you not touch them?"

"Magic, silly!" he says, waving his hand dismissively. "Normally, human wizards can't see the true form of magic. They can only tell that magic has been cast by observing its effects. If I were to fire a stunning spell at you, people would know about it only by seeing the bright flash of red light and by watching you fall unconscious. But we Shinigami are different. We can literally see the trails of reiatsu left behind by spells that stay around after a spell has been cast."

"What? Really? So magic leaves a reiatsu trail, or imprint, and we can see it?"

"Exactly. Let's go back to the example I gave earlier, about me stunning you: Let's say I stun you, and then I walk away, leaving you there. After a while, some humans and a Shinigami come along. The humans won't be able to tell how you fell unconscious. They have no way of saying for sure that it was magic. But the Shinigami can tell. He can see the imprint of reiatsu left behind by the magic, and he can deduce from there that you fell unconscious because of a stunning spell,"

"That's very interesting, but I don't see how it relates to those glass balls, Ichimaru," I say, trying to stop him from rambling.

"It's related!" he says seriously. "Those balls have a very strong imprint on them. That means that some powerful and long-lasting spells were cast on it – probably to protect it. What's more, there were multiple distinct imprints. That means there were multiple spells, each with a different function. Who knows what those spells might do, with their combined power?"

"Oh…so that's why you couldn't touch them. Any idea what they are, though?"

"No…not really. My best guess is that they contain information that was passed between two people – those whose initials are recorded on the label,"

"That would explain the 'regarding so-and-so'. Those two must have passed information concerning a person. But…what's the freaking point?" I ask, gesticulating wildly.

"Beats me!" he shrugs. "Must be top-secret messages or something. Since there's no point in the actual messages being locked away in the Ministry, those balls must be simply records of those messages after they were transmitted."

"Yeah…that makes the most sense. But still nothing on Horcruxes?"

"No. Still nothing," he looks out of the window, with a frustrated expression. "Even the Ministry doesn't know about those things. I guess the only thing we can do is to go to Hogwarts and hope to find more useful stuff there,"

I nod in agreement. He had found some really interesting things in the Ministry, but none of it helped us in our mission to find Aizen and kill him. Our original plan of finding Aizen's reiatsu and tracking it was more productive than this, so far. But still, if we were successful, we could find something major. So I had to stick to it until the end. We ordered drinks when we were done with our food. As the waitress left, Ichimaru kept staring at her.

"What's the matter? See something you like?"

"Nope. That's not it. She just seemed familiar, that's all." he said. A short time later, the same waitress came back with our drinks. I took a good look at her. She was dressed in the Machiavelli's uniform – a black blouse with black trousers and a white apron. Oddly, she was wearing a surgical mask over her mouth – the type people wear when they fall sick and go out in public. She had striking green eyes, similar to Lily's, and she also had blonde hair. Seeing her face, Ichimaru actually opened his eyes wide.

"Halibel? _Tia Halibel_?" he asked, his mouth a thin line.

"About time you recognised me!" the woman snaps, looking cross. She passes her tray to one of her co-workers who was passing by at that moment and takes a seat next to Ichimaru. I scrutinise her, wondering if we've met before. The name doesn't ring a bell. She glares at Ichimaru, then looks at me and extends a hand.

"Hi – I'm Halibel, the former Third Espada." Seeing my alarmed face, she said quickly, "I'm with Nel and the others now,"

"Oh…I see. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo," I respond, shaking her hand. She has a loose grip and doesn't squeeze my hand. "Umm…so what're you doing here?"

"I work here," she says, with an air of stating the obvious.

"Yeah, I can see that – I was asking why,"

"To get away from Las Noches for a while – that's why. And while I'm at it, I might as well try and learn some new skills, so I decided to find a job. Being a waitress isn't so good, though. I haven't learned anything useful. I'll probably quit soon,"

"So how're things going in Hueco Mundo?"

"Well, we're pretty bored. There's not much to do, and we haven't gotten any fresh clues on Aizen since the time Nel and Starrk contacted you," Halibel sighs. "But I think things are going to become interesting soon, though, with the magic training and all,"

"You're gonna be learning magic? From who?" This was new!

She frowns, "Well…from you guys!" What? I gape at her in surprise and she says hesitantly, "Wait…hasn't your dad told you?" Looking at my clueless face, she says, "I guess he hasn't…Maybe I'll fill you in,"

_"Guys! We've got a visitor!" announced Nel, walking into the main hall of the slightly restructured Las Noches. With her was a Shinigami – Kurosaki Isshin himself. Everyone had been loafing around in the hall, with Grimmjow playing cards with Starrk (who was, predictably, dangerously close to nodding off) and Ulquiorra reading a book, and Halibel watching on with disapproval as her Fraccion gossiped away in a tight circle a few metres away. Nobody seemed too bothered by a Shinigami's arrival, with most only glancing up in mild interest._

_"The hell are you?" Grimmjow demanded._

_"I'm Kurosaki Isshin – Ichigo's father,"_

_"Isshin came here to make a deal with us," Nel explained. She paused and said, "I think Grimmjow might be interested in this,"_

_"Oh yeah? What kind of deal?"_

_Isshin scratched his head. "I need to give my son special training…and I'd like you to help out,"_

_"What do we get out of this arrangement?" Ulquiorra asked quietly._

_"Umm…my gratitude?" Isshin grinned. "Oh, and you get to beat up Ichigo,"_

_"I'm in!" Grimmjow roared. Nel shook her head and facepalmed at his frivolous nature._

_"Isshin, Grimmjow will go with you to help you train Ichigo. In return, I have my own request to make," She said. "Ulquiorra – how's your research on magic going?"_

_"Badly," the pale-skinned Ex-Espada said. "I've read up on it, but we need tools, and a trainer who can correct our mistakes. Books only take us so far,"_

_"So…you know nothing about it," Grimmjow deadpanned, unimpressed. Ulquiorra glared at him. "Such insolence,"_

_Well, well, the point is you Shinigami boys know more about magic than we do," Nel said. "We can go help you train Ichigo and you can teach some of us magic. We know now that if and when Aizen returns, he may try to use magic against us. As we are now, we might not be able to defend ourselves against such attacks, so I want at least some of us to learn magic. Does everyone find this acceptable?" Nel shot a sweeping glance at everyone in the room. Everyone nodded. Isshin replied, "Yeah, I agree with you. The Shinigami are already prepping themselves for a battle of magic, so it makes sense you guys should do the same. Ichigo's in a good position to teach you guys, 'cause he's one of the best-trained among the Shinigami, and he's also more experienced than most of the other members of the Team,"_

_"Very good! Well then, who's gonna go with Isshin, and who's gonna go for magic training?" Nel asked cheerfully._

_Halibel yawned, "I'll go for the magic classes – I don't do much here anyways,"_

_"Then we're coming as well!" Apache said, standing up with her two fellow Fraccion._

_"No – you three stay here," Halibel commanded. "Things will be easier that way," She didn't bother pointing out that her three devotees would just get in each others' way if they came along. _

_"I'm going with you, old man!" Grimmjow grinned at Isshin. "Ulquiorra! You're coming with me!"_

_"Don't order me around, trash!"…But he ended up following him anyways._

_"So…what's this magic like?" Starrk quizzed._

_"Umm, well. It goes against the laws of physics, I guess. I've seen Ichigo create objects out of nothing, I've seen him make things float in the air…he actually got in a fight recently and got hit by many spells – nothing happened to him, but I'm guessing that's only because of his power. If he'd been a normal human, he would've died, or become a vegetable,"_

_"Whoa! Magic turns people into food?" Grimmjow shouted, awed. Isshin and Nel stared at him, then laughed out loud._

_"See – that's why we still keep this idiot around!" Nel hooted, ruffling Grimmjow's hair ("Stop that, you condescending bitch!")_

_"Oh look – he knows what 'condescending' means. Someone give him a trophy," Ulquiorra deadpanned coolly, causing everyone to laugh even harder, while Grimmjow turned red and looked daggers at everyone._

_"Alright, alright!" Isshin chuckled, before turning to Starrk again. "Well, is that all you wanted to know?"_

_Starrk stood up. "Count me in for the magic classes. It'll be a pain to learn, but life's so much easier when you can conjure up whatever you need,"_

_"I thought he might say that," Nel chuckled. "Well then – it's decided. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra will help you train Ichigo. Halibel, Starrk and I will learn magic from you guys."_

_She then turned a curious eye to Isshin. "So what's this training all about anyway? Why bother spending time making Ichigo stronger than he already is?"_

_"I have to. This training isn't really for making him stronger – it's to give him better control and also for closer cooperation with his Zanpakuto. Besides…it's kind of a tradition," Isshin said, scratching the back of his head again. Nel gave an understanding smile._

_"Well, let's just leave it that then, shall we? When can we start?"_

_"You can start your magic lessons at your own time. Just call me or Ichigo and he'll find time to teach you guys."_

_"Sounds good!" _

"What?" He just made me a teacher without my permission?

Halibel smiles behind her mask and says in a falsely sweet tone, "I look forward to working with you, Sensei!" to which I glare at her. Damn it, dad!

"Ohh, looks like you're down for teaching duty," Ichimaru snickers. "Hope this class doesn't give you too much trouble!"

I glare at him, then I realise I won't really be having that much trouble anyway.

"Starrk, Nel and Halibel, huh?" If that's the case, the class probably wouldn't be a troublesome one. Those three weren't destructive like Grimmjow. Speaking of him…he was gonna help my dad train me, along with Ulquiorra. That was unexpected. I had already asked my dad to train me earlier, but I thought he was gonna do it himself, not ask someone else to help. But speaking of Ulquiorra…

"Wait a minute! How'd Ulquiorra survive? I'm pretty sure he…kinda faded away,"

"It seems Inoue Orihime found enough of his remains to bring him back to life," Halibel sighed.

I swore. "She did it? So that's why she was so drained when we got back from Hueco Mundo!" After the war had ended, I had gone on a trip to Hueco Mundo with Inoue and the others, intending to wrap things up. For one thing, I had left Nel behind, and Grimmjow was also in Las Noches, after Nnoitra almost killed him. I had to find both of them, especially Nel. And also, I had been looking for some closure after practically committing murder against Aizen, and I had gone to the desert castle, hoping to find what I was looking for.

Once inside, we split up and walked about. Inoue went straight for the roof with Ishida. I couldn't blame her; after all, she'd borne witness to Ulquiorra's death, moments after he had found his 'heart'. The roof where everything had happened obviously had a strong pull on her. When she got back, she was sleeping and Ishida was carrying her. He refused to tell me what had happened, so I had to make a guess. My conjecture was that she might have tried using her power to bring Ulquiorra back and had failed – hence her lack of strength. I never imagined she had actually succeeded in bringing a person back from the dead, but clearly, I was wrong. I had to talk to her as soon as possible.

Resisting the urge to call her there and then, I looked at Halibel and said, "O-ok. Thanks for the heads-up, Halibel," She looks at me sympathetically. "Don't worry too much about it. We had a hard time believing it too, but it's true. And we're all grateful to her. Even if Ulquiorra is a bit of a misanthrope, he really does care for us now, after his experience with Inoue Orihime. I doubt he regards you as an enemy anymore, even if his actions suggest otherwise,"

"Yeah…coming that close to death tends to change people in that way," I murmur, finishing my drink.

Hours later

"So…why'd you leave, captain? For the second time, I mean," Kira slurred, while I looked on with disapproval, holding a glass of firewhisky – only my second in that hour. They'd been in the bar for an hour now and were already halfway drunk. Ichimaru held up his glass as he spoke, also with a slur, "Because…I had to go…and fight Aizen!"

Thank God they were both speaking in Japanese. Kira already knew more or less the story of how Ichimaru left the Gotei to pursue a career in the Agency, but he still felt unhappy about it.

"But we're fighting him too!" Kira argues slowly. "You could've just waited for us to find out about Aizen…then could've come with us…"

"You screw-ups…are way too slow!" Ichimaru says, gesticulating wildly. His drink almost spills out of his glass. As a captain-nominee in the Gotei-13, I had to protect our organisation's pride, but as much as I hated to admit it, he was right about the Gotei being screw-ups in several situations. And he was right about us being too slow. We would never have known about Aizen's return unless the British told us. We might not even have been able to pull off our win with Sirius if the Arrancar, of all people, hadn't come to our help. It really says something about the Gotei when we have to be helped by those who would otherwise be our mortal enemies. But even so, this was at least better than proudly refusing their help and allowing Sirius to fall into Aizen's hands.

"We're not…screw-ups! We're just…" Kira tries to explain. I facepalm. Maybe this was a bad idea? I had to get out of here.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go make a phone call," and before they can answer, I step out of the Leaky Cauldron and ring up Inoue. Now was an absolutely dreadful time to call her – it was 3 a.m. in Japan! But I had to call her. After what I had heard about Ulquiorra, I simply _had_ to speak to her about it. Biting the bullet, I start the call. She picks up surprisingly fast.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Inoue? It's me, Ichigo!"

"Kurosaki-kun? What're you doing, awake at this hour?"

"I'm in London, remember? It's still 9 p.m. here! Anyway, I'm sorry for calling at such an ungodly hour, but – "

"Oh, it's fine!" she chirps. It doesn't seem as if she's sleepy at all. "I had lots of homework so I had to stay up late. But don't worry, I'm almost done!"

"Oh…that's nice to hear. Hey, listen, I've got something very important to discuss with you,"

"Oh? Go on, then," she says with some uncertainty.

"Well, I…I met with one of the Espada recently. I heard…I heard about Ulquiorra," There. I said it. She is silent for a long time.

Finally, she says, "Oh. I see."

Wait, what? That's not what I was expecting. But then, it comes.

"I don't think you have to worry about it!" she says with gusto. "Ulquiorra's really a fine person! I mean…he used to be mean and all, but now, he's…well, he's more human-like!"

"'Human-like'? How would you know that? Inoue – you know what that guy did to us!" I argue, but without sounding judgemental. "What made you think it was a good decision?"

"I…" she falls silent again and only responds after a few seconds. "I just thought it was the right thing to do, Kurosaki-kun. He was every bit a member of the Espada, cold, calculating, and full of unwavering loyalty to Aizen before he fought you. But the time he spent with me, and his time spent fighting with you, changed him somewhat. He finally realised what it's like to be human – and then he died. I just thought it was too cruel. That's why I…that's why I – " she breaks off, voice cracking. I sigh, and we both fall silent for the next minute or so.

"Look, I'm not blaming you for anything. I don't think he should have died that time either – not in that manner." I take a deep breath and continue. "I saw it too – that time. He did change somewhat at the end, and I also heard from the Espada themselves that he wasn't a bad person. If you think that's reason enough to bring him back, I won't argue against what you did."

"Really? You're…ok with that?"

"I can't say for sure until I actually see him, but I'm sure things will work out, somehow!" I say heartily. No reason to have her go to sleep thinking of sad things. "But just…be careful. Any power that can bring the dead back to life is an amazing _and_ frightening one."

"Sure! Thanks, Kurosaki-kun!"

"No problem, Inoue! Thanks for talking to me, even though it's this late,"

"Oh, it's no problem at all!" she gushes.

"Well, I won't keep you up any longer. Good night, Inoue,"

"Good night, Kurosaki-kun!" she says and hangs up. I smile as I put the phone back into my pocket and walk back into the bar to pick up the two Division Three men. They're both sleeping, with their heads rested on the counter. I cock an eyebrow at Tom, the landlord of the Leaky Cauldron, and he grins sinisterly.

"Sleeping spell. 'Cause they were getting noisy,"

"Well, thanks Tom. That's…convenient, I guess" I shrug at the bartender, and pay him for the drinks. Well, that's it for their not-so-epic drinking session. Time to go home!

Days later

It was time for training. Even the beginning of this program was a rough one.

"Ichigo! Wake up!" Dad shouts, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of bed.

"What the hell? You almost dislocated my arm! And what time is it?"

"For your information, it's 1.30 am. Now come on! Get out of your body, get dressed and meet me outside," he shout-whispers. Bewildered, I get out of bed and expel my Shinigami form out of my body. I had decided some time back to change to comfortable clothing again, so I was dressed in a well-seasoned, flexible pair of jeans and a T-shirt with a black jacket. Before I go out, I do one last check on Zangetsu – he still isn't talking to me. Obviously, he is still trapped inside. Looking ruefully at the blade, I jump out of the window where Dad is waiting.

"It's time for your training, Ichigo," he says seriously. To his left, the surroundings freeze and the air itself cracks – it's a Garganta. Grimmjow bounds out of it.

"Kurosaki! It's been a while!" Grimmjow shouts boisterously, slapping me on the shoulder. I push his hand off – it was way too early in the morning to deal with loud-mouthed idiots. The bastard had frequently made trips to Karakura Town two years back, because he thought the city was 'fun'. When I found him in Hueco Mundo, he'd been on the cusp of death, and I had decided to save him, thinking it was far too cruel to let him succumb to the wounds inflicted by another Espada, one of his comrades. My decision had its pros and cons. Inoue was too weak to do anything after our Las Noches trip, so she was unable to heal him. So we ended up healing him the traditional way at the Karakura Clinic, even doing one surgery at the Hospital. That had been interesting – Ishida Uryu and I had helped my dad and Ishida Ryuken do the surgery, since we had to do it on a spirit and none of the hospital staff could see or feel spirits. The two Ishidas, in a rare show of agreement, were in mild disapproval of our decision, but Ryuken didn't protest, saying that it was his duty as a doctor to save lives, without regard for _whose_ life he was saving.

When we were done, he was too weak to do anything strenuous; even running was out of the question. So we put him through a lengthy rehab program. With his inability to fight or do anything physical, he ended up developing a taste for human entertainment and frequently visited me or my friends at Karakura Town to play games at the arcade or watch movies. Luckily for us, he behaved for the most part, with only the occasional rude comment or innuendo, knowing that we could trash him at any time if we wanted to. He even tried to 'help' me with my council work, loudly boasting that I would benefit from his past experience as a 'King'. His leadership had been surprisingly good, but its aggressive and combative nature irked me so I disregarded his 'advice', eschewing it for a more collaborative style. As for the cons…who knew that bastard was such a womaniser? He was into _How I met your Mother_ and every time our small group met, he would try and emulate Barney Stinson – and we all grudgingly admitted he was actually good at it sometimes. Well, I didn't care…as long as he didn't do anything stupid with a woman at _my_ place!

"Silence, trash. It's still night time," another voice said. We all jumped at suddenly hearing this voice.

"Ul-Ulquiorra! Since when were you here?" Grimmjow demands, only to get a chilly look from the former Fourth Espada, who's standing behind him. In my sleep-deprived state, I had failed to notice him. He is wearing a black vest with a white shirt, which is neither ironed nor tucked in, and black trousers with a black coat – very similar to the Hogwarts uniform. Grimmjow is in a tight black cargo shirt with only the bottom two buttons done, and blue jeans.

"I was here all along, fool," comes the condescending reply. We all chuckle awkwardly at having forgotten his presence.

"Well, ok, now that we're all here, can we start?"

"Yeah!"

"Ok, follow me, you three!" dad says, clapping his hands and disappearing in a flash step. We all pursue him quickly as he flies across the skies of London. Eventually, he stops at a large plain. By now, we're probably outside London itself. I'm surprised I was able to actually follow him, despite being half-asleep. Dad looks at me seriously.

"Right now, you're unable to use your Zanpakuto's abilities, Ichigo. I want you to fight these two until you're able to change that,"

"So…*yawn*…I fight until I can use shikai and bankai again?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Grimmjow, have at him!"

"You got it!" Grimmjow roars, swiping at me. He's fast, but then again, he's been in post-surgery rehab for two years, and he's only been active for the past year, as far as I heard. Meanwhile I've been training over the past three years. A step back is enough to dodge, followed up by a slash with Zangetsu. He simply swipes it away – damn his Hierro! As we continue fighting, me with my sword and he with his fists, Ulquiorra stays put by dad's side.

"What's the point of all this?" Ulquiorra asks.

Dad looks serious as he explains, "His Zanpakuto buried itself deep within the recesses of his soul. That's the only explanation for his inability to perform shikai or bankai. See, what I'm trying to do is to make him realise his dependency on his Zanpakuto. That's why I forced him out of bed at this time only to fight two strong opponents. The stress will force him to bring Zangetsu to the surface. It'll force him to accept Zangetsu's power fully,"

"I see," Ulquiorra says tersely, removing his coat and rolling his sleeves up to the elbows. In a swift movement, he draws his sword and attacks, sending me flying.

"Kurosaki," he says, walking slowly towards me. "I understand what the problem is. The only way you can return to your previous levels of power is for you to lose yourself in battle once more. Allow me, once again, to show you the true nature of despair,"

There he goes again with his long-winded dramatic statements!

"That so? Well shut up and show me!"

He jumps high up and stands about 30 metres up and says, "Very well. _Enclose, Murcielago_," The same spectacle I saw three years ago repeats itself. Green reiatsu falls all around like rain, and Ulquiorra is hidden from view, like a black veil is covering him. When the imaginary veil lifts, Ulquiorra is standing before us in his Resurrección form. It is the same as it was three years ago; the only difference is that his attire has changed. His robe is black instead of white – possibly because white was Aizen's colour. That must have been why all the Espada switched to black and white clothes instead of purely white clothes. But the appearance aside, this is bad news for me. The last time I faced Ulquiorra, he was a match for me when I was using Bankai _and_ my mask – and when _he_ still hadn't released his sword. Now _I_ was stuck with a sealed sword and he was already in Resurrección Stage 1. Even with my training, I'd be hard-pressed to keep up with him, never mind defeat him.

Without warning, the first attack comes. Ulquiorra's green lance, his _Luz de la Luna_, is barely manifested in his palm when he comes for me.

"_Getsuga Tensho!_" But nothing happens.

"It's useless," Ulquiorra taunts. "Getsuga Tensho requires resonance with Zangetsu. With Zangetsu locked away within your own soul, you can't even use that sort of attack!" With that, he strikes. _Hard_. And he sends me flying once again. It's painful, even with a body hardened with years of fighting, and I struggle to my feet. I'm hardly up before I sense Grimmjow coming from behind. In response –

"_Hado #33: Soukatsui!_" My reiatsu is still as high as it ever was, and the attack burns Grimmjow badly. But it's no use if he goes into Resurrección – releasing his sword will heal his burns and other minor injuries.

"Your back is unguarded!" Ulquiorra shouts triumphantly, attacking me fast. As powerful and nimble as he is, I know he's taking it easy now. Looks like what Halibel and Inoue said about him was right. He's different from before. He's actually taking _my_ training seriously and not using it as an excuse to beat me around, and neither is he doing it half-heartedly either. He's actually thinking about how to get the job done most effectively. It would probably good to chat with him. Of course, I couldn't talk to him now, since we were training, but I had to do it later once we were done.

"_Grind, Pantera!_"

Damn. Grimmjow's already in Resurrección. And still, I only have kido and my sealed sword to defend myself. The two arrancar close in on me one at a time – to prevent me from getting out of the way and allowing them to collide. Grimmjow goes first, with a series of punches. I counter with my sword, which is still unable to cut him. Pumping some energy out of the blade helps, but even so, the cuts I make are shallow.

"What's wrong, Ichigo? You're completely useless without your bankai, aren't you?" Grimmjow taunts.

"Shut up! I can still beat you with this!" I'm obviously bluffing. "_Hado #31: Shakkaho!_"

Instead of launching the red fireball at Grimmjow, I keep it in front of my palm and push it at Grimmjow, intending for it to explode in his face. But at the last moment, he pulls away and Ulquiorra takes his place. My plan works, but Ulquiorra, with his power, is able to deal with it well. Grimmjow would probably have doubled over in pain with that attack, but Ulquiorra is unfazed. That was a waste of power, and he ends up dealing a long but shallow slash on my chest.

"Grimmjow is right. You are completely useless without your Zanpakuto's power," Ulquiorra says as I glare at him. "You have two options. You can try and become powerful on your own, without your Zanpakuto, or you can try to reclaim your ability to perform bankai."

But wait! I still have a trick up my sleeve – magic! I only just remembered it. But I don't have a wand! But…I can still try and cast a spell without a wand. It was supposedly a difficult trick, but I could try, right? A wand was a device meant to concentrate magical power and expel it. If I can concentrate reiatsu into my hands like I did for kido, there shouldn't be problems with expelling magical power, which was simply a specific application of reiatsu.

"_Lumos!_" It works! My fingertip starts glowing.

"The hell's that?" Grimmjow demands, coming at me again and attacking fiercely.

"Oh, nothing," I smirk, dodging and parrying his attacks. Now that I can cast the most basic of spells with my hand, it's probably time to try something more complicated. But I have to buy some time first. An idea comes to mind.

"_Lumos Maxima!_" The spell works and creates a massive ball of bright white light. Now Ulquiorra and Grimmjow should be blinded. I point two fingers at them and cast the next spell.

"_Stupefy!_"

"Ahh!..The hell was that?" Grimmjow shouts. But worryingly, Ulquiorra is quiet. It's still too bright to tell what's going on. It's like standing in a snowfield in the Antarctic, where you're unable to even differentiate between the ground and the sky. Then, a green beam of reiatsu comes straight at me and pierces my stomach. It goes in a few centimetres before disintegrating abruptly. I drop to my knees, breathing heavily. My _Lumos_ spell cancels, leaving the place dark again. Grimmjow had bent over in pain, but he's straightening up now. Ulquiorra looks fine.

"Blinding us before hitting us with magic was a good decision. But you forgot that I am a bat. I knew where you were as soon as you shouted out," he says in his usual monotone. "At this rate, you really will die, Kurosaki."

Oh damn. He really means it. In their world, there is no point in training the weak. The weak just get eaten up. Only humans and Shinigami go easy on others for training. Hollows see no reason to do that. What the hell do I do against those two, with just a sealed sword and magic, which is not effective at all, given that neither of them is unconscious. I'm getting really desperate now.

_What the hell do I do?_

_What?_

_Answer me, Zangetsu!_

No reply – but I do sense some…disapproval. Zangetsu is definitely in there, and he's not happy with how things are going. Sensing my hesitation, Grimmjow pounces. Before I can defend, I'm thrown off the ground heavily.

"That hurt, bastard! You'll pay!" he shouts, punching me so fast it looks like he's got a hundred fists. I block quickly, but I can't be preoccupied with him. I've also got the other one to deal with. He comes up quickly with a bala. The attack strikes me squarely on my back and I'm winded. I forget to block, and Grimmjow catches me with his fists. Once again, I fall to the ground and drop to my knees as the two back off, knowing that they're not supposed to kill me.

_Damn it, Zangetsu! Are you listening? Worse, are you _high_ again? You'd better not be loafing around at a time like this! Zangetsu!_

"_Hmm…Ichigo…_" a reply comes. It's Zangetsu! He finally replied!

"_Zangetsu! Can you hear me? What's going on down there?_" I would have entered my inner world at that point, but because of the fight, I had to stay conscious.

"_Ichigo…are you willing…to accept me as your strength?_" comes a deep rumble within the recesses of my soul. He continues, "_If you are, you must break all the barriers of hesitation preventing you from accepting me,_"

Break all barriers? How was I to do that? Suddenly, images filled my mind. I am forcibly reminded of the first and only time I spoke with the spirit of Tensa Zangetsu in my inner world. He was in disapproval of my thoughts and feelings. He pointed out that my inner world had turned from a unique sideways metropolis to a replica of my town. He showed me how the area had become submerged underwater thanks to my grief and despair and feelings of negativity. He showed me the source of my despair, the Hollow himself.

But what'd he mean by barriers? Barriers of hesitation…what were those? Another image floods my mind. This one shows a single word: DISCIPLINE.

Discipline? What are you trying to tell me, Zangetsu? Then the answer hits me.

Discipline was everything. I always remembered it in my fights, even if I didn't consciously do so. Even when I fought my inner Hollow, who tried to teach me to use my instincts in a fight, I didn't abandon discipline. I always fought in a very careful controlled manner, only relying on my own instincts when necessary. The amount of control I always exerted in a battle was tremendous. I never 'let loose' like the Hollows do. That was my discipline. In a time when I was most scared of my inner Hollow taking over my body, discipline was what I held on to most, subconsciously. I treasured it, so sure that it would keep me from becoming a savage beast.

But discipline was working against me now. It was keeping me from properly resonating with my Zanpakuto. Being a Shinigami means to never fight alone. That was what I learned from my duel with Kenpachi, and it was a lesson I tried to hold fast to from then on. I always relied on Zangetsu. But not, it seems, very much. I still relied mostly on my own power. Once I learned Getsuga Tensho, I only used that attack. I hardly actively sought other ways in which to use Zangetsu. I never even thought once of letting Zangetsu guide me directly in a battle.

And in the end, that was what kept me from being able to access Shikai and Bankai after the unfortunate incident with Hollow reiatsu. The reiatsu itself was not to blame for the locking of Zangetsu within my soul – this was something that had built up over the months and letting the reiatsu possess me was simply the trigger that started it off. And once Zangetsu and the Hollow were locked away, the barriers I'd built between us held strong and kept them there.

So the question was…how to undo the damage? Obviously I had to take down the barriers. But would I be able to do that? Discipline was _everything_ to me, like I'd already mentioned. Could I really give that up? Or could I find some other way to release Zangetsu without losing myself in the process?

Even as I think about it, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra don't let up. They both attack relentlessly. I can't attack anymore; I can only put up a pitiful defence. What the hell should I do?

There are two arrancar pummelling me now.

The only way to resist is to free Zangetsu and (possibly) become like a wild beast.

It's around 2 in the morning and I'm dead tired.

The only way to end it is to give up and let my instincts do the talking.

Man. Talk about one bad decision after another. I smile to myself as I jump back and relax my muscles, getting ready to do this.

"_Zangetsu…I understand what you're trying to tell me. I'm sorry it took this long to trust you. If you're willing to, let me fight together with you again. This time, I want to let you take a more active role. Rather than just advise me, really fight with me this time. What say you, Zangetsu?_"

There is a long pause. Then –

"_I accept, Ichigo. Break the barriers and resonate with me!_"

"You got it!" I shout triumphantly, feeling for Zangetsu's reiatsu within me and encouraging it to take over me.

Third Person narrator's Point of View

Ulquiorra, Grimmjow and Isshin took a step back as a bright blue light emanated from Ichigo's body at that point.

"Kurosaki, what's happening?" Ulquiorra asked, uncertainly. Isshin stared critically at his son, before saying uncertainly, "I…think he did it,"

"Whoa! He succeeded?" Grimmjow shouted.

As if in response, the blue glow of reiatsu around Ichigo suddenly dissipated, to reveal Ichigo staring straight at them, carrying Zangetsu's Shikai form on his shoulder. His eyes were burning bright blue, and his hair was flying, even though the air was still. He looked expressionless, standing about 30 metres away from them on that plain. Isshin suddenly swore.

"Ulquiorra – open a Garganta back to Las Noches!" The Espada silently obeyed as Isshin grabbed a pouch from within his Shihakusho. Ichigo started walking towards them slowly.

"Hey, he's coming nearer! I don't like the look on his face!" Grimmjow warned.

"Yeah – I know! This is the part he gets _real_ violent! Grimmjow! Get inside the Garganta and wait for me!"

Ichigo started brisk walking towards them. He held up his sword before him as he walked.

"Oh no no no no no!" Isshin swore loudly, still rummaging through his bag. Ichigo was walking very fast now.

"Hey old man, if you've got a plan, do it now! He's this close already!"

"Scared, Grimmjow?"

"Of course not, Ulquiorra! He's just…he just bothers me, ok?"

"Found it!" Isshin shouted. He held up what looked like a white coin and crushed it with his fingers. He then jauntily saluted Ichigo.

"Have fun, son! Now, into the Garganta, guys! Close it quick!" The three men jumped into the Garganta and ran off into the pitch black space to Las Noches. Just as this Garganta closed, Ichigo swung his sword wildly at the place where the Garganta was. But it was too late. Some trees were instantly felled with the impact of the reiatsu that was generated by the swing, but the three men were unharmed and gone. Ichigo spat on the ground angrily and his blade responded by glowing blue for a second. But then, something came along that perked Ichigo's interest. It was a Hollow. Attracted by something in the area, a Hollow came along to the large plain outside London. It wasn't alone. There were many others that came along, looking for a quick meal, or a fight to bide their time. Unfortunately for the Hollows, they came face to face with a Shinigami – one who had truly earned the title of _Reaper_. Ichigo smiled, and pounced.

Screams in the dark.

_To be continued_

Reader Mistifyinglake asked me in a review a long time ago if I could please resurrect Ulquiorra for the Espada. Yes I can! Ulquiorra is alive and kicking! I'm sorry it took this long, but I couldn't find a suitable time before this to introduce, or rather, reintroduce, Ulquiorra. The Espada need a deadpan, no-playing-around character like this on their team, and that's why I decided to bring him back.


	14. Kurosaki Family History

The Next Great Adventure

Chapter 14: Kurosaki Family History

_Ugh._

Where the hell was I? What happened? All I remember is that I passed out after allowing Zangetsu free access to my power. Damn it. I've got to stop this whole trend of passing out and going berserk.

_Zangetsu? Can you hear me?_

_"Loud and clear!"_

_Not you, idiot! I was talking to Zangetsu!_

The Hollow cackles wildly, and then grunts in pain and falls silent. Apparently Zangetsu just punched him or something.

_"Ichigo. How are you feeling?"_

_Zangetsu! I'm fine!...Ok, that was a lie. I'm tired, injured, and I have absolutely no idea where I am._

Zangetsu simply harrumphs and falls silent.

"_Come into your inner world. I will explain what happened,_"

I follow his instructions and find him waiting with the Hollow, once again on plush chairs brought out from the offices in the buildings. Zangetsu seems happy. He actually smiles when I walk over and says, "Ichigo! Good that you're here; take a seat and we'll talk about last night,"

"Sure. But before that, I want to know where and when this is,"

"Time and location?" he asks. "It's about 6 in the morning. I don't know where exactly you are. You're injured, but I've tried to minimise the damage. You should be fine."

"Alright…so what happened last night?"

"You don't remember?" the Hollow frowns.

"Nope. I passed out, remember? I think Zangetsu took over from there on,"

"Indeed I did," Zangetsu replies. It had been hard for me to believe at first that he could control me like the Hollow once was able to, but looks like such things are possible. "It's rare for a Zanpakuto to take control of his or her Shinigami partner like this, but it's not impossible. Yesterday when you allowed me access to your powers, that's what I did. I surprised myself with it," he remarks.

"What exactly did you do?"

Zangetsu thinks about it for a few seconds before saying slowly, "I wasn't put in control straight away; the hollow reiatsu within you also tried to take over your body – the same reiatsu that's emitted by the Hollow inside you, but can't be controlled by him. During that time, you went berserk. You would've taken it out on your father, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, but luckily, they left the place in time, and there were also plenty of Hollows in the area for you to fight. As you fought, you became tired over time and that was a good opportunity for me to regain control,"

So Zangetsu actually had to fight for control! I see…

"Thank you, Zangetsu. You did well," I smile at him. I've been in the same position before, fighting the Hollow for control of my own body. I know it's no mean feat.

"No problem. The Hollow reiatsu shouldn't bother us for a while now. I think, first of all, it was triggered off by coming close to the wolf in Hogwarts all those months ago. Since we won't be seeing him anytime soon, if we're lucky, the hollow reiatsu shouldn't flare up again."

"Great!"

"So after I regained control, I looked around to see what had happened. Apparently, you had killed many Hollows. I also noticed a large shield had been set up some distance away – preventing any of your reiatsu from being felt beyond the shield. That's why none of the other Shinigami came to see what had happened. There were many Hollows dissolving after being purified, and the remaining stragglers were leaving. You had many injuries, but none were fatal. I tried moving your body away from there, but I can exert my influence for only so long. That's when you collapsed,"

I reflect on his words. What he says is pretty frightening. He can actually control my body. For a control freak like me, that's scary.

But I also understand I've got to stop thinking like this. After all, I made up my mind yesterday that I would stop being so distant with Zangetsu and truly accept him as my power. Even if I had made the decision in a rush of adrenaline, when I was desperate to save myself from Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, I had to stick by it. It was my choice and if I didn't uphold it, how could I possibly hope to lead others in the Gotei-13? I said as much to the other two. Zangetsu smiled.

"Well spoken, Ichigo. This is the attitude which I was trying to instil in you from a long time ago. Don't think too much and needlessly regret your actions and decisions,"

The Hollow sneered as I nodded in agreement. "That's all very good, but what does this entail? Now that he's unlocked a new ability of Zangetsu's, what's Ichigo gonna do from now on?"

"The training," Zangetsu says decisively. "Given a family of Shinigami, it's easy to notice certain trends. They all tend to have similar abilities as Shinigami, or they all specialise in a certain skill. In the case of the Kurosaki family, the prominent members of the family have similar Zanpakuto. Of course, I don't mean to say that everyone's Zanpakuto is the same, but we have similar characteristics, and so, the training to properly wield these weapons is the same for everyone. This is where your father comes in, Ichigo. Now that you've come to this stage, he will train you just as his father trained him before,"

"Wow. So this is some kind of family tradition?"

"Indeed. It's been going on for quite some time now,"

"Hmm. I see,"

"That's all I can say for now, Ichigo. I think you should return to the real world now. It's time for you to get back to Chelsea and see your father once again. He'll tell you what to do from now on,"

"Alright," I say, breathing out deeply and getting up. Before I leave this sideways world built by my soul, I turn to Zangetsu once more. "And Zangetsu…once again, I look forward to working with you,"

As my world starts to fade, he smirks, "The feeling is mutual,"

My eyes open in the real world, and I start taking stock of the situation even before I get up. There are some injuries on my body – mostly just cuts and bruises. I'm still in my Shinigami form, and my clothes are slightly ripped, but mostly intact. Zangetsu's sealed form isn't with me as well, but I know intuitively that this is natural. I can materialise the sword anytime. A second later, the pain kicks in.

"Urggh! God that hurts!"

Luckily, it isn't _that_ intense. It's simple residual pain from exhaustion and my wounds. If I had my wand, I could heal myself quickly, but since I can't have magic, I'm forced to wait. Once my reiatsu has recovered somewhat, I summon my mask to my face and try to regenerate myself. I can't do it instantaneously, but healing is much faster with the mask, so my wounds start closing up faster now. At that moment, I hear a car coming. Turning around, I notice that it's a black car coming down the plain. What kind of crazy driver is in control of that vehicle? It's weaving around! And it's coming straight at me! Damn it's gonna crash!

Fortunately, it stops merely a metre before me. The doors open and out steps…Rangiku and Rukia.

"Rukia? And Rangiku?"

"We heard what happened from your dad!" Rukia says breathlessly, kneeling beside me and starting to heal me using kido. She doesn't bother with silly questions like 'Are you ok?'. That's Rukia for you.

"What's so funny?"

"Uhh, no. Umm, I'm just glad to see you again,"

She chuckles and focuses on healing, letting me lean on her shoulder a little.

"So what were you guys doing yesterday?" Rangiku asks.

"Hmm? I had to do some training to regain Shikai and Bankai. I lost it two days ago, 'cause I got in a fight and did something really stupid. But it's alright now! I'm fine – except for these wounds, anyway."

"Oh – I thought you were doing…something else,"

"Like what?"

"I dunno – something related to Kira coming back drunk, I guess,"

"Ahh," I break off awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"It's fine, we can talk later," Rukia says firmly. "Here, I brought along your wand – use it to close your wounds first. You can explain everything later,"

"Oh, Rukia, you're a lifesaver," I mumble closing up my wounds quickly with my wand. Oh, the benefits of being a medically-trained wizard. With that, we pile into the car and return home.

Days later, start of the Hogwarts Academic Year

It was a few days later that extraordinary events started unfolding at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – much to the chagrin of Hisagi Shuhei, whose natural inclination was towards covering the events as a writer and editor.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my duty to announce that, this year, we will not be holding the Inter-House Quidditch Championship," Professor Albus Dumbledore announced to the students of Hogwarts at the Great Hall immediately after the sorting ceremony on the first day of the new academic year.

As expected, disappointed, angry whispers broke out all over the hall. A few people swore and demanded an explanation among themselves. McGonagall pursed her lips in disapproval, and opened her mouth to say something, but it was unnecessary. The massive doors to the Great Hall opened suddenly with a resounding slam, which caused everyone to shut up immediately. A man walked through the doors. He was wearing a black travelling cloak, and evidently had a bad leg, indicated by his limp and the long staff he used. The dimly lit hall didn't allow for his face to be seen clearly, but at that moment, lightning streaked across the roof of the hall, illuminating the man's face – revealing it to be marked with many scars. His nose was broken, and his mouth was crooked and cruel-looking. His most notable feature was one of this eyes – he had one halfway normal-looking eye with a dark iris, but the other was bright blue. It wasn't a case of heterochromia either; the blue eye looked completely unnatural, like it had been implanted artificially. It was swivelling around in all directions, even rolling backwards so only the white sclera was visible.

Finally, after a tense few seconds, the man reached where Dumbledore was standing, and the two men shook hands. After a quiet exchange of words, he sat down and helped himself to some food, using his own knife instead of the Hogwarts cutlery. An awkward silence followed. Cheerfully, Dumbledore said, "May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Alastor Moody!"

Even with his reassuring tone, nobody clapped except for Dumbledore himself, and Hagrid.

"Anyway, as I was saying, we have cancelled the Inter-House Quidditch Tournament – in order to make way for an exciting event, one that has not been held for over a century." Dumbledore continued from where he had left off.

Excited whispers saturated the hall once again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce that Hogwarts will be playing host to the Triwizard Tournament this year!"

The hall fell speechless.

"You're joking!" someone finally found his voice – Fred Weasley himself.

"No, Mr. Weasley. I'm not joking," Dumbledore smiled. "Though I did hear an excellent one over the summer about – "

Before he could ramble on about the joke he heard, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat pointedly.

"Oh – but this is not the time for that," the headmaster amended hastily. "Now then, the Triwizard Tournament…" he launched into a brief explanation of the event. Ignoring it, Fred said excitedly, "I'm so going for it!"

"Now, given the danger of this tournament in years past, the Ministry of Magic, and the heads of the other two participating schools, Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang Institute, have agreed on imposing an age limit on this competition. Like I've mentioned earlier, the three champions will be chosen by an impartial judge. This judge will only select champions who are of age – that is, over the age of 17 – and I will be taking measures personally to ensure that no student hoodwinks our judge.

"What? That's not fair! Fred and I turn 17 in April!" George howled. Rukia smiled at his behaviour and turned to Hinamori, switching to Japanese.

"Think we could enter?"

"Of course not," Hinamori giggled. "We're well over 17, but which judge would believe us? And we shouldn't, obviously. We've got more important things to worry about!"

"That's true…Still, this year looks like it's going to be a hectic one, huh?"

The rest of the evening passed by with the students discussing Dumbledore's words excitedly, and Fred and George making their plans to somehow trick the 'impartial judge', and Hermione finding out that the food on her plate was prepared by House Elves. Once again, the fires of passion for defending the less fortunate were lit up in her heart, and the idea of campaigning for better rights for Elves came to her mind later on.

Oh well. Good things don't last, do they?

Weeks later

It was around a few weeks after the academic year started that I decided to drop off Renji in Hogsmeade. He could have gone earlier, but James and Lily had decided to give him some extra job-oriented magical training so that he could fit in better with his cover.

Here's what we had decided: Renji would go to Hogsmeade and stay there as a worker in a shop named _Spintwitches_ – a shop selling sporting goods. He'd already landed the job in an earlier interview. Most likely his employer would provide him a place to stay; if not, he had some money to rent a room in one of the inns. From there, he would monitor the progress of Rukia and Hinamori and meet up now and then in the village to discuss their future plans.

Also accompanying him would be his pet dog, Snuffles. Needless to say, this 'dog' was not really a dog – it was Sirius Black himself. We had protested against it, but he had stubbornly refused to change his mind. The letter he had received from Harry months earlier – about his scar hurting – was still weighing heavily on his mind and he was loath to sit by and do nothing while something dangerous brewed in Hogwarts. James and Lily didn't help either – since they were unable to do anything much for their son short of watching over him, they didn't seriously want to reject Sirius' wishes. Ultimately, Renji decided to let Sirius come with him, saying that he would take responsibility for it. Renji was good friends with Sirius and sympathised with his wanting to come to the aid of his godson. The rest of us relented, but sternly warned Sirius to keep a low profile and to always stay as a dog unless he was in a private place. James also taught Renji and Sirius both a spell to make their room soundproof, so that they could talk without anyone outside getting suspicious. We also got Sirius to behave in a slightly clumsy manner, so that he would appear less fearsome.

With all these little things decided, I took the car and drove to the outskirts of Hogsmeade. I looked for a secluded, wooded area and parked there. Once we got out, we covered up the car with some branches and leaves – after all, non-wizards weren't supposed to be here anyway. The car would just attract suspicion. We got out and took out the small suitcase containing Renji's items and walked towards the village with Sirius bounding behind us. As we had arranged, Rukia and Hinamori met us at the edge of the village. This was their first official Hogsmeade visit, so they were free to meet us there.

"Ichigo!" Rukia shouts, running over and hugging me. We laugh stupidly and do that thing which all couples do for a few seconds before stopping and facing the amused Renji and Hinamori with overly-dignified expressions.

Putting on a falsely pompous voice, I proclaimed, "Rukia and Hinamori – I commend you both for the hard work you've put in over the past year. May the next academic year be even more fruitful than the last – "

Hinamori cut in, "If you're gonna make speeches like that, I'm not sure I want you as my captain anymore!"

Scowling at her, I continued, "Renji's gonna be your leader going forward. See anything noteworthy, tell him about it. Make sure you meet him when you have your trips to Hogsmeade," I then remembered something else. "Oh, and one more thing – I'll be dropping in on the castle some time in the future, most likely during one of the Triwizard Tournament events. There's some research I need to do,"

"Wait – you knew about this tournament and you never told us?" Hinamori snaps.

"Dumbledore told me not to! He wanted to surprise you all!"

"What kind of research anyway? Does it have anything to do with Ichimaru?" Rukia asked suspiciously. I started to sweat. I had told everyone about Ichimaru already.

_"Guys! Gather 'round! I've got something to say to all of you!" I called out. Everyone came down to the living room at 15 King's Road. Some looked intrigued, while others were irritated at having been called out. _

_"What's this about, Kurosaki? Found something useful for the mission?" Toshiro asked, looking relaxed and alert at the same time._

_"Well…something like that," I said evasively, cocking an eyebrow at Kira. He got the hint instantly and nodded subtly._

_Swallowing nervously, I said, "I know what happened to Ichimaru Gin after he disappeared from the Gotei-13,"_

_Toshiro immediately gets up from the sofa in shock._

_"What? Ichimaru? Tell me everything!"_

_Lily frowned, "Ichimaru Gin? Is that the…" she broke off, looking at James._

_"Yes. He's working in the Agency now," I said grimly. "He's the latest man there to be promoted to lieutenant rank,"_

_"He's in the Agency now?" Toshiro was practically shaking with rage. He still hadn't forgiven Ichimaru – although technically, Ichimaru hadn't really wronged them – but was not allowed to do anything to him now, since he was part of the Agency._

_"That's not all," I said guiltily. "He found some research on Aizen and was following some leads – I helped him out with it,"_

_"You helped him?" Toshiro practically exploded. "Kurosaki – explain yourself!"_

_I held up my hands defensively and started to blurt out an explanation – but then stopped myself. Why was I afraid? Ichimaru had come holding information that I considered useful, and I had judged that it was better to cooperate. I couldn't simply reject Ichimaru based on Toshiro's past grudge, especially since that grudge was hardly justified, as far as I knew._

_A little braver, I explained, "Ichimaru, like I said, did some research. He interviewed many of the denizens of the British Soul Society and found some evidence of some kind of tool that can be used to revive a dead person. We both decided to partner up to investigate these leads, 'cause I thought they were worth pursuing,"_

_"You trusted him?" Toshiro barks. "After all he did – "_

_"Why not?" I counter. "We all know by now that his attitude and behaviour was simply a front – so he could spy on Aizen and finally kill him when the time came. And you said it yourself: when he was allowed to work in the Third Division after the war ended, his conduct was exemplary! _Those_ are his true colours – and that's why I made the choice to work with him,"_

_Toshiro calms down somewhat, and rubs his temples in annoyance. He can't argue against my evidence anyway. _

_"But why didn't you tell us about this? If you're working with Ichimaru – or any Agency member for that matter – you should have let us know," Rangiku pointed out. She's surprisingly under control, businesslike._

_"Exactly! Why didn't you tell us?"_

_"Because…we both didn't think you'd approve of it from the beginning," I sigh. "We didn't intend to keep it a secret from you forever, actually. I wanted to establish something solid first before telling you guys. I wanted to find something useful, so I could hold that up as evidence that working with Ichimaru is actually fruitful. That way, you'd be more likely to accept him, or at least, tolerate him,"_

_"And have you found anything useful so far?"_

_"Unfortunately, no," I said. Before anyone could say anything, I said loudly, "BUT – we've only investigated one lead so far. We still have another place we could find something useful at, and I'm thinking that place could have some of the information we need."_

_"What place is that?"_

_"Hogwarts library,"_

_"He has a point," Lily comments. "The library at Hogwarts has many books on a whole range of subjects. If you go in your soul forms, you can remain invisible and search the whole library for what you're looking for,"_

_James adds on, "If you'll hear my opinion, I think Ichigo should have told us about this from the beginning. I haven't read the Agency's report on Ichimaru Gin yet, but I'm guessing he's someone who's a double agent, from what Ichigo said earlier. I don't think you guys trust him, but still, if Ichigo's trusted him and worked with him for these few months, that's enough for me. Of course, the fact that the Agency accepted him and promoted him to Lieutenant is also very reassuring,"_

_"So you're saying we should work together?" Toshiro cocks an eyebrow at him._

_"No – that decision is up to you, really," James says easily. "But I'm saying that I can't see any reason not to, if he has information that could be useful,"_

_Toshiro shook his head and sighed again._

_"What'd you guys think?" he barked at Hisagi and Renji, who jumped slightly, startled._

_"Well, I guess…" Hisagi broke off awkwardly, not knowing what to say._

_"I agree with Ichigo and James," Renji said decisively. "Ichimaru was a creepy bastard – we all agreed on that. He's hurt some of us too," he glanced at Rangiku. "But now we know he did all that just to get a chance to strike at Aizen. Hell, he's been fighting secretly against Aizen for a century while we kept our eyes shut, believing that Aizen was a good man and an irreplaceable captain! And once the war was over, he became the model Shinigami – doing his work dutifully and never stepping out of line. It's like James said – there's no reason not to work with him if he has information,"_

_Following his example, Hisagi found his voice. "Yeah. Definitely. Ichigo messed up, keeping it a secret from us, but I think it's just bad luck that he was forced to reveal this to us this quickly. If he'd waited and found something major before letting us know, we'd probably have praised his move. Still, that doesn't exactly make his decision a bad one,"_

_Toshiro looked somewhat irritated, but he had to accept it._

_"Alright then. I accept this partnership. Kurosaki – do what you have to do. But I want to see Ichimaru personally. I want to meet him and talk to him face to face. Can you arrange a meeting?"_

_"Of course," I say, face flushed with excitement at the verdict. I turn to James, Hisagi and Renji. "Guys…thanks. I appreciate it,"_

_"Don't mention it bro!" Renji claps me on the shoulder._

And that's how the news was broken and everyone found out. In response to Rukia's question, I say, "Yeah – with Ichimaru. I'll be in contact with you guys to find a suitable time for this activity."

"Well, alright then," Rukia pouts. How cute. Then, I see some familiar faces coming towards us.

"Rukia! Momo! There you guys are! Oh – Ichigo too!" It's Ginny Weasley herself. She runs over to us and stops short. When she spots Renji, she freezes and says awkwardly, "Umm, hi,"

"Oh, this is my friend Renji – Renji Abarai," I explain quickly, making sure to put his given name before his surname so as to not confuse Ginny. "He's starting work as an assistant in Spintwitches,"

"Oh, that's…great! I'm Ginny Weasley," she smiled and shook Renji's hand.

"Oh my God – your hair is redder than hers," I commented to Renji. Before he can make a suitably witty comeback, some more people join us.

"Ginny! Have you found them?"

"Yeah! They're here!" Ginny shouts back. From around a small cottage nearby, Hermione, Ron and Harry come out and walk towards us.

"Oh – Mr. Kurosaki! You're back!"

Renji is re-introduced to the three, who can't help but stare at the dog apprehensively.

"Umm…Ginny, could you go with Rukia and Momo and find us a table at the Three Broomsticks? We'll be back soon," Hermione said, in a strangely high-pitched voice.

"Umm…ok, I guess. Well, come on!" she pulled Rukia and Hinamori by their arms and dragged them away.

"Is that dog…"

"Yes, it's Sirius," I said. "Don't worry about Renji – he knows everything. In fact, Rukia and Hinamori are in the know too; they've been helping me bring supplies and stuff to him now and then,"

"This is dangerous!" Harry fumes. "What if he gets discovered? And with this many people – what if there's a leak?"

"That's why he's with Renji. He got a job in Hogsmeade, and conveniently, Sirius – or rather, _Snuffles_ – wanted to come here to keep an eye on you and on events here. But don't worry – Renji's powerful. He's more than capable of defending himself and Sirius from any attackers. And I trust Rukia and Hinamori – they won't talk,"

"Of course, we'll keep a low profile," Renji says reassuringly. "We won't stick our heads out and attract attention. Snuffles is just an ordinary dog and I'm his master. He'll stay with me in my inn. Now, you can visit him if you like – but not at my room, 'cause that'll look suspicious. In fact, I'd say it's safer to wait until your next village trip to see him. If you want to see him, arrange a meeting through Rukia – she knows how to contact me. Or better still, just use the phone – but don't overdo it or I'll just ignore any future calls!" he warns jokingly.

Hermione sighs, "Well…I still have a bad feeling about this. But at least, you seem to know what you're doing, so I won't protest,"

"Yeah," Harry agrees. "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. Really, I'm glad to see you again, Sirius," he says, patting Sirius on his head. "Kurosaki – thanks for taking care of him,"

"Not a problem," I shrug. "Now, Renji – shouldn't you be going now?"

"Yeah. I've got to check in at the Hog's Head, then go to Spintwitches to start my job," Renji says briskly, before shaking my hand. "Keep in touch, Ichigo!" and he's gone with Sirius in tow. Harry starts following them, but Hermione holds him back.

"It's suspicious, remember? And besides, we've got work to do!" she says sternly. I chuckle.

"What, doing homework on your day off?"

"No! It's not homework," Hermione says brightly. "It's…sort of a project I'm working on. Oh – why don't you join us too? I wanted Rukia, Ginny and Momo to help me; it'd be great if you could join us!"

"Well…I guess I've got some time to kill…"

And so we all ended up at a table in the Three Broomsticks with an excited Hermione, an irate Ron, and an indifferent-looking Harry. Rukia and I had to be careful – everyone here thought we had a six-year age gap, so it would be risky to reveal our relationship status, to borrow the Facebook term.

"So…what's this all about?" Rukia smiled curiously at Hermione. Harry smiled slightly, looking down, and Ron groaned.

"Oh, here it comes,"

Hermione shot him a dirty look and beamed at her juniors and at me. Going into full-on 'persuasion' mode, she launched into a short speech.

"Did you four know that the much of the dirty menial work at Hogwarts gets done by the bruised hands of House Elves?"

"Huh? House elves?" Rukia asked. "You mean the race of elfish creatures, who generally were the servants of Wizards since ages ago?"

"Exactly!" Hermione said forcefully. "It's an army if House elves responsible for the food on our plate, the state of our dormitories, and the upkeep of the castle!"

Shaking her head in confusion, Ginny said slowly, "So?"

"SO it's a scandal!" Hermione cried. "House Elves practically work like slaves for wizards! The work that gets done in Hogwarts – all slave labour! Someone's got to do something about it!"

"So…basically you're against the hard work done by House elves?" Rukia quizzed.

"_Basically_, I want to liberate them from their horrific conditions! Nobody should have to go through what they go through on a daily basis!"

"Well, that's…a noble goal, I guess," Rukia conceded. "And where do we come in?"

Hermione turned the full force of her smile and dangled a box in front of us. There were some badges inside.

"I want you three to join the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare! The membership fee is two Sickles. I'm the leader, Harry's secretary, and Ron's the treasurer!"

Ginny looked incredulously at her brother, but didn't say anything. The two Japanese girls looked uncertainly at one another.

"If…this is such an issue, how come this is the first we're hearing of this?" Rukia asked, looking bemused. "Surely you're not the first magician ever to feel indignation at House Elves' poor working condition?"

"Magician?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow.

"I just like that term more than 'witch' or 'wizard'," Rukia explained. "So?"

"Nobody has bothered with this problem before," Hermione said decisively. "Wizards reap most – no, _all_ the benefits of this arrangement. Generation after generation of house elves are suffering from this twisted social contract between their race and the wizards. In answer to your question, I'm _surely not_ the first person to feel indignant about this problem. But everyone else was content to shamefully swallow those feelings and continue to benefit from the slavery of House Elves. But not me! I don't want to sit by and do nothing! I want to actively campaign for a better life for all House Elves!" she ended passionately.

Rukia raised an eyebrow, then chuckled at Hermione, who turned red.

"Wh-what? What's funny?" she hissed.

"Oh, nothing. It's just…oh, forget it," Rukia said dismissively. "But if you're that passionate, it wouldn't do to reject you right away,"

"So you're joining?" Hermione said excitedly.

"It's too soon to join." Hermione's face fell. But Rukia continued, "BUT – we'll consider. Or at least, I will," she amended, looking at Momo, who nodded, "Oh don't worry – so will I,". Ginny reacted similarly.

"What exactly d'you mean consider?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"Show us where the elves work at Hogwarts. I want to see for myself their conditions. I want to speak with them first. Then I'll decide if I'll join your campaign," Rukia said.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Momo concurred. "If we see for ourselves, we can make a more informed decision,"

Hermione wasn't unhappy about the result and promised to show them what they had wanted to see. I had a few further questions, though.

"So what triggered this?"

"Don't you remember how Mr. Crouch treated his elf, Winky, at the Quidditch World Cup, after the Dark Mark was cast? That's when something inside me snapped. It's when I opened my eyes to the mistreatment of House Elves!"

I held up a hand to stop her, then said, "If memory serves, Crouch set his elf free. Is that really…mistreatment? I mean, I know she was upset, from what you told me that night. But if she was unhappy at being freed, does that mean you're gonna campaign against freeing elves?"

"Y-yes he did set Winky free!" she says uncertainly. "But that's not the point! The point is that he set unreasonable standards and expected Winky to keep to those standards! And the behaviour of Mr. Diggory too! He was biased against her from the beginning! Just because she was an elf!"

Ah. That was more like it. "Y'know, it's just like Rukia said: It seems like a worthy cause. But I don't know enough about it yet. Tell you what: I'll be coming back to Hogsmeade for one or two days over the next few months. Show me the conditions of Elves as they are now, and I'll make a decision whether or not to join your club,"

"Well, alright then,"

And that was how I found out about the strange, one-sided relationship between elves and humans. But that didn't happen until months later, and it is a story for another time.

Days later

By now, it was more than two weeks since I'd recovered from my fight against Zangetsu in my inner world. Dad still didn't want to start the next part of my training yet, even though I was completely in good shape now. To keep me occupied, dad suggested that I call the Espada over and start their magic lessons. Nel and the others had already been contacted by me; I'd already given them instructions to go to Diagon Alley to pick up their wands. They'd apparently been having fun waving their wands around and trying to use them to manipulate reiatsu in Hueco Mundo, without much success, and Nel was excited when I called her and asked her to come over.

"Good to see you again!" she said, hugging me. "So, can we start now?"

"Sure!" I say cheerfully. The House has a spare room which was modified by James and Lily after they found out I was going to conduct magic lessons. They basically cast a spell on the room to make it extremely large on the inside, although the house looked the same from the outside. The room was blast-proof and the walls were designed to absorb magic and stay intact, just in case any spells misfired. Some props were provided as well, like targets to blast, or feathers to levitate.

Since they simply wanted to learn defensive and practical magic with wands, teaching them Herbology and Potions was not needed. Flying was not in the syllabus either. Only charms, transfiguration and defence were included. I started off with basic spells, just to get them accustomed to magic; the more difficult stuff came afterwards, when they were better at control.

"Ok, you guys are already good at controlling reiatsu, and you're also generally smarter and more focussed than 11-year-old kids – at least most of you are," I stared pointedly at Grimmjow, who flipped me off angrily. He and Ulquiorra had invited themselves along for the lessons after seeing Starrk, Halibel and Nel having so much fun playing around with their wands. Of course, they had their own wands as well. I was unhappy with their addition to my class, but I could tolerate it. "So, you guys should find these lessons easier than the typical Hogwarts first-year student,"

Pausing, I continue, "I think we should start off with the levitation charm. It's simple and can't go wrong, if you're using feathers. I want you guys to practise it until you can control the flow of power. Then we can move on to more difficult spells."

"We're going to levitate feathers?" Halibel asks. "How?"

"You swish and flick the wand," I explain, demonstrating the movements. "And at the same time, you recite an incantation – _Wingardium Leviosa_. Try it on one of those feathers. Try to make it rise to the ceiling slowly, by controlling the power output,"

So they get to it. Much to my shock, the first person to succeed is none other than Grimmjow.

"I…I can't believe it! Congratulations, Grimmjow!"

"Heh! This is what you get for underestimating me!" he smirks. But as it turns out, this minor victory inflated his ego – which led to an unfortunate incident.

"Levitating feathers is too easy!" Grimmjow boasted, and he started looking for heavier things to levitate. In the absence of anything heavier, his eyes settled on Ulquiorra. And he grinned slowly.

"Oh crap. Grimmjow – don't!"

"_Wingardium Leviosa_, bitch!" he shouted gleefully, swishing and flicking his wand at Ulquiorra, who grunted in shock as his legs sharply rose, causing him to fall on his back hard.

"Ah – he didn't fly," Grimmjow said nervously. Huh. He succeeded in pissing off Ulquiorra. Congrats indeed, Grimmjow. Soon, the room is filled with his high-pitched screams, as Ulquiorra headlocks him and punches him.

"Aaaand that's what you get for being a retard," I roll my eyes as Nel laughs and the other two facepalm at their friends' stupidity. We've been working on this for some time already, so I call a break. Some drinks are brought out and we take a seat, sipping our drinks and chatting. My dad comes to join us soon after, and I take the chance to ask him a few questions.

"So dad…I hear this training you're gonna put me through is some kind of family tradition,"

"Yeah. Many of the prominent members of the Kurosaki family have similar Zanpakuto. They all received similar training…y'know, now that I think about it…I've never told you about your paternal grandparents, have I?" dad replies.

"You tried to – once. I refused 'cause I didn't want to know about the people who brought up a maniac like you!" I deadpan, and Nel and Grimmjow laugh appreciatively.

He simply smirks and shakes his head. "You're missing out on a lot of important history, Ichigo! Hey – we have time. I'll just tell you now!"

I cover my ears quickly. "I don't wanna hear it!"

10 seconds later

He started his story. Worse, Nel actually looks interested. *sigh* Looks like I'll just have to bear with it. I kick back on the sofa and sip my ginger ale as dad starts his story.

"Kurosaki Tesshin. That's the name of your grandfather. He was born about 250 years ago in Soul Society. My mother was named Hisako; she came to Soul Society after her life in the real world,"

That surprises me. "What? My grandfather wasn't born on earth? Then what about you?"

"Me neither, son! I was born in Soul Society too! As far as I can remember, you're the first person in our family to be born in the real world," He looks rueful as he continues, "But I guess you got pulled in to the world our family belongs in all the same,"

"How'd all that happen, though? How many generations were born in Soul Society?" I demanded.

"Most, if not all the generations," he says seriously. "I never knew the full extent of our history, but most of our ancestors have been born in Soul Society,"

"But that's just like the noble families of Soul Society! Maybe the Kurosaki clan was an old family?" Hisagi-san suggests. Wait – Hisagi?

"When did you get here?"

"Just then," he says, then frowns at dad. "So?"

Dad chuckles, "No such thing, Hisagi! We were a family of Shinigami, but we were never a noble family. We just happened to have a long history of settling down with our partners and starting a family in Soul Society – which is somewhat rare for Shinigami,"

"Alright…so what about Tesshin? What kind of guy was he?"

"He…was deadly serious…Really, a no-playing-around tough guy. He was the officer in charge of Physical Training in the 10th Squad. Training is pretty basic in the Gotei-13 and many divisions take it lightly. That's why you fought so many weaklings back when you went into Soul Society to rescue Rukia-chan. But Tesshin…my father was different. He gave them the same sort of training that is generally given to Commandos in the real world. It was brutal, and he moulded them into extremely disciplined soldiers." He looks somewhat frustrated as he says this. Maybe he was also a victim of extreme discipline? But more importantly…

"Wow! That's…great! Hey dad, how do I contact him? I wonder if he'll agree to train me instead of you," everyone chuckles.

"Nope. He's dead," Dad says heavily and everyone quietens down. "And what a terrible way to go, too,"

"How did he die?" Nel asks silently.

Dad scratches the back of his head uncomfortably. "He…died on August 6th, 1945 – In Hiroshima," he says evasively. But some of us get the hint – and it shocks us to the core.

"Oh…that incident, huh?" Hisagi says, looking downcast. Starrk and Grimmjow look clueless.

"Oh God…that's how he…" Nel breaks off and shakes her head with a melancholy sigh.

"It's ironic," Dad chuckles bitterly. "The Shinigami were so obsessed with wiping out the Quincy 200 years ago, but when something similar happens in a war between humans, they barely responded,"

"The Quincy? How is that related?" I ask, recovering from the shock. Then the answer hits me. "Are you saying that…the bomb destroyed souls as well as bodies?"

"Yeah,"

"What's going on? Could someone explain exactly what happened on August 6th 1945 in Hiroshima?" Starrk asks.

"That's when an atomic bomb was detonated over Hiroshima," Nel explains.

Dad nods. "My father was in Hiroshima at that time. We Shinigami were sent to various cities to help with Soul Burials. Cities were being bombed regularly, meaning that many people were dying and becoming Plus Souls. And since it was a war, negative feelings like rage, anxiety and despair hung over every city like a thick fog. Those were perfect conditions for Hollowfication. So Shinigami were stationed at cities to quickly send souls over to Soul Society before they hollowfied, and to put down any Hollows that they encountered."

He takes a swig of beer and continues, "Hiroshima had been left alone up till then, relatively. The bombers wanted to keep the city intact until they dropped the bomb, so that they could measure the power of the bomb – bombing a half-destroyed city wouldn't accurately reveal the true extent of its power. My dad thought something was off about the fact that this city had been spared the bombing so far. He thought something big might be happening there. So he asked to be stationed there. His request was granted, and he went to Hiroshima. And I never heard from him again. I even went down to Hiroshima to try and figure out what had happened. His reiatsu was completely gone. Not a trace. I even got the R&D Department to use their equipment to do a complete scan. No luck."

"So he's gone forever," I murmur.

Nel tries to be upbeat. "But he can still be reincarnated! He could have been reborn! Right?"

Dad smiles sadly. "No, Nel, that's impossible. His soul was destroyed, just the same as if he'd been killed with a Quincy's arrow." He scratches his beard, thinking of how to explain things. "You guys know that a lot of heat can destroy souls, right? That's what the Sokyoku is for. They use it for the ultimate execution – to destroy a criminal's soul in a massive conflagration of flames and forever take it out of the cycle of rebirth. Atomic bombs have the same effect. They release so much heat that objects vaporise in a fraction of a second – and the same goes for Shinigami bodies. I suspect he was very close to where the bomb exploded, so his soul burned up and was utterly destroyed."

"So that's why you never told us anything about him," I remark. "You didn't want your children to know that your father had died like that,"

"Yeah. Anyway, it was after that that I retired from the Shinigami. I never told you this, but up till then, I was the captain of the 7th Division. I was born in 1848, and was invested as a Captain in 1930. When I realised that there was no chance my father could have survived, I decided to take a long break. I was disillusioned, see. After seeing how we handled the war, I didn't want to work there anymore. I waited until we'd wrapped up all our war-related work, then I applied for leave – and for permission to go to the Real World."

Kira says sharply, "That's not possible! The laws state that – "

"Those laws only apply to those who weren't born in Soul Society," Dad says firmly. "The law that forbids Shinigami from staying too long in the real world was meant to prevent Shinigami from living a second life. But what's the point in enforcing that rule on a man who's never been in the Real World at all?"

He falls silent and nods.

"So that's how I got to the real world, where I was allowed to stay for 80 years. It's also how I met your mother, Ichigo," he says, gesturing towards me. Nobody laughs at his choice of words.

"Oh God. This is gonna be long, isn't it?" I complain. Dad barks out a laugh and suddenly the tension is gone. This promises to be a more joyful topic. But I was wrong, ultimately.

"My work was only wrapped up in the late 1970s, about 3 decades after the war ended – understandable, since we had to cover a large area and perform many delicate tasks. I left a year after that, and I wandered around for a bit, doing this and that. After a few years, I made up my mind to do something worthwhile – I decided to get myself educated. After deliberating on many university courses, I settled on medicine, inspired by another promising fellow named Ishida – Yeah, that's your friend Uryu's dad – who was pretty much the first friend I made in the Real World – because previously I went around in my Shinigami form, and was invisible to human beings. He initially viewed me with distrust, since he was a Quincy, and I was a Shinigami. But since I was pretty much just a tourist, we set our differences aside and became friends. It was there that I first met a freshman law student named Sawashiro Masaki – obviously, your mom,"

"Awww! Was it love at first sight?" Rangiku-san gushes – where the hell did she come from? Dad grins at her, "The hell it was! There's no such thing as love at first sight! Or so she told me that time. And what's with all these people joining us all of a sudden?"

"Forget it! More importantly, Mom said something like that?"

"Yeah! She didn't believe in that sort of love, based on appearances. I only learned why much later,"

"What'd you mean 'much later'?"

"I'll come to that soon," he says, grabbing another bottle of beer. "We were loose-knit friends at that time. We met every now and then to grab a bite, or go to the bar after a failed test. You've…got to understand that I wasn't exactly in my comfort zone that time. Where I used to be a Shinigami captain, doing military work and leading subordinates, now I was a mere student. I had to answer to others, and people wouldn't follow me unless it was of their own will. I kept my head low initially, until I was used to the Human World."

"Wow. You keeping a low profile – that must've been an odd sight," I snark. "But wait – you just said you'd been in the human world for a few years before going to university."

"Yeah – but those years were spent as a spirit, without interacting with humans. University was the first time I actually used a faux body and really mingled with the denizens of the real world,"

He continues, "After my studies, I worked as a doctor in Tokyo for one of the hospitals. That was really one of the best periods of my life. I worked in maternity and later on in Intensive Care, and the work was really a hell of a lot more satisfying than my work as a captain. But I couldn't keep doing it forever. After about a year and a half, I ran into Shihoin Yoruichi herself." That elicits a gasp from everyone who knew Yoruichi.

"I knew she'd been exiled a long time ago, so I felt that letting her go was dangerous. Naturally, she ran away after meeting me, so I gave up my job and followed her. I thought she was up to no good after her actions related to the hollowfication of a sizeable number of Officers many decades ago – those were the Vizards. When I eventually caught up, I found that I had nothing to worry about. I heard all about the Vizards and the true reason for her exile. I heard about Aizen. It was hard for me to believe that the Captain of the Fifth Division could do such a thing, but I soon came to believe her after I heard the testimonials of the Vizards as well. Since I'd lost my job, she offered to go somewhere with me and I accepted. We ended up backpacking,"

"With _that_ Shihoin Yoruichi?" Hisagi asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. My early days of exploration had been limited to China, Japan and Korea, so we decided to set our sights further down the horizon,"

"So where'd you guys go?"

Dad says airily, "Oh, a few countries. Firstly, India. Yoruichi heard a rumour from somewhere that her ancestors came from there, so we went to check it out. It might just have been true. We discovered an ancient martial arts style in the North – a Fist that might have been introduced to the Japanese via Indian Buddhists* who travelled there on their journeys to transmit Zen to other nations. It's interesting, really, how much we've been influenced as a country, and as a Soul Society, by the teachings of other societies, especially China all those centuries ago. Some people say – "

"_A-hem_," Mihane says primly, to stop him from rambling – she's another latecomer to our little group here. Dad breaks off awkwardly.

"Oh…but that's a story for another time and place. Now, where was I? Oh yes – I went backpacking with Yoruichi. First we went to India, and then we went on to Cambodia, and finally, to Britain itself."

"You've been here before?" Lily asks. I have no idea when she (and James) came here, and I don't have the will to question it either.

"Yeah! We came here basically to pick up Kisuke – that's a friend of mine," he explains to those who don't know Urahara. "He'd been staying in Britain, but wanted to return to Japan. So we went to have a small holiday there, then return together. After getting back and deliberating for a while, we decided to stay in Karakura Town. It was a quiet town that was just getting urbanised, at that time. There was a big hospital, but there were hardly any clinics in the town, so I could set up a practice there and Kisuke could…well, Kisuke could do whatever he wanted to do. He ended up selling candy and the occasional pricey service to Shinigami who happened to pass by that way. It was there that I once again met with my old friends Ishida Ryuken and Sawashiro Masaki. They were both working at Karakura Hospital. At that time, Ryuken was the Head of the Cardiology Department, and Masaki was working in the Legal Department."

"No wonder she was so smart," I remark. It was true. My mother was very good at logic and reasoning. Her law background explained all that.

"And then from then on, Masaki and I started dating, and we eventually got married."

There's silence.

"What…that's it?"

"Well, yeah!" he says defensively. "What else did you expect?"

"I'm actually grateful that it's this short, but…I was expecting more," I say. "Ok, so much for mom – but what about Hisako-san? My grandmother?"

"Oh…my mother, huh? It sounds a little shameful, but I don't know," he says, shaking his head. What the hell? A muscle twitches above my eye.

"How the hell do you _not_ know?" I shout, grabbing his head in a headlock and rubbing my fist into it.

"Lemme go! Lemme go, dammit!" He shouts. "I've been out of contact for, what? 40+ years?"

"And why?" I demand, pinching his ear.

He growls in frustration and pulls my hand off his ear before answering, "Tell me: If you were a working adult and you took leave to go on a vacation, would you do your work while on vacation?"

"Well, no, but – "

"That's exactly what this is all about! I went to start a new life, at least for the next 80 years, in the Real World. What's the point in me keeping in contact with everyone in Soul Society?"

He calms down and says patiently, "My mother was nice to me; a sharp contrast with my dad's ruthless disciplinarian ways. But she never coddled me. She never wanted to hold me back in any way. That's why I didn't keep in touch. She would probably have scolded me if I had!" he chuckles.

I still wasn't satisfied. "Is she a Shinigami?"

"She has a Zanpakuto, but she never joined the Gotei-13. She's probably still at her home in the 38th District of Rukongai,"

"She had a Zanpakuto? That's no good; she should have joined the Academy," Toshiro says. He was the latest to actually ask a question, but he'd been standing around for a while, hearing everything.

"Nah. She could control her power well enough, if that's what you're worried about. She could do Shikai, but she wasn't interested in becoming a Shinigami in the employ of the Gotei,"

"No, it's not that I'm worried about. If she married a Shinigami, learning control wouldn't be a problem. Her husband could have taught her some of the basics. I'm more concerned about the Gotei not getting all the talent it can," Toshiro explains. Dad shrugs.

"Well, it can't be helped. Not everyone with power wants to become a Shinigami. Anyway, the point is, she has power – that means she's still around, 'cause souls with power live much longer than those without,"

This slightly mollifies me, but I'm not completely satisfied. "I have to go see her,"

"And you will. Some day. Who knows, she might already know about you. In the 38th District of Rukongai, where she lives, there are quite a few households which have members serving in the Gotei-13. When these Shinigami return home to meet their families, they bring back news from Seireitei. When a particularly big event happens, the entire district finds out pretty soon, so I bet she must have heard that a guy named Kurosaki Ichigo invaded Seireitei with a bunch of humans. She must have made the connection,"

"Oh…ok, I guess," Something else he said from earlier comes to mind. "Hey – what'd you mean earlier when you said you only learned later on what mom was driving at?"

"Oh, you mean the time she told me she didn't believe in love at first sight? Well, it's not really anything major; it's just her belief that people can only fall in love after getting to know each other first. She scorned the ill nature of a love based on appearances, that's why she didn't like the idea of love at first sight."

He downs the last of his beer and crushes the can before continuing. "About a year or so into our relationship, Masaki suddenly fell ill and had to be warded at the hospital. I seriously thought she was going to die. I wanted to operate, but Ryuken didn't let me,"

"What? He prevented you from healing your own wife?" Rangiku-san cries, outraged. I'm angry for a moment, but I quickly calm down, realising the rationale behind the decision.

"Well, she wasn't my wife yet. And I think it was a good decision. Ryuken himself didn't attend to her personally. Reason being, I was her boyfriend and he was her close friend. That sort of personal relationship clouds your judgement, so he assigned one of his best doctors to the case. To take things off our minds, we…kinda got drunk. Actually it was more me than him. Then Ishida went and cracked one of his Hollow bait coins – you had a bad experience with those things before, right, Ichigo?"

"Huh! Like father, like son, eh?" I remark. Really, this was ironic. For all the ill will the younger Ishida bore against his father, they both shared a spirit of recklessness which reared its head now and then.

"We went outside town and let off the bait, killing as many Hollows as we could. It may sound brutal now, but we saw it as a form of stress relief." Toshiro starts to protest, but dad silences him with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry; I made sure to purify as many as possible. Ishida didn't kill any,"

"So what happened afterwards?"

"Well…Masaki recovered, thankfully. But our little episode helped me realise something,"

"What?"

"The fact that I was _this_ worried told me something. I was prepared to make a commitment with her, and for her. That's why I got married after that. I was sure because of that illness of hers – and because of my reaction to it – that she was the proverbial _one_,"

"Awww!" Rangiku says.

"But there's more, isn't it?" I ask. He's clearly not finished yet.

"Yeah. I couldn't stay in the real world forever, since I was a Shinigami. They'd be expecting me back after a few decades. So I decided to conceal myself. I got Urahara to make me a permanent Faux Body, one that would actually age at the same rate as humans, and…I also asked him to…remove my Shinigami powers,"

"Hmm, just as I thought," I muse. I'd already been told that dad had _regained_ his Shinigami powers before the winter war – implying that he'd lost them before. So this was the cause.

As everyone falls silent following this revelation, dad says, "On a more relevant note, back that time when Ishida and I went out to kill Hollows, I unconsciously broke down the barriers between myself and my Zanpakuto Engetsu,"

"Broke down barriers? You mean…"

"Yeah. That was when the training given to me by my father kicked in. He'd administered it a long time ago, but I didn't want to use it. We got in a big argument over it; he said I had to use it and pass it on to the next generation, whereas I didn't see the point in doing that. But when I started fighting those Hollows, I unconsciously started using the special skills taught during my training,"

"Was it something similar to what happened to me some time back?" I quiz, referring to the time I went berserk before passing out and meeting Luna Lovegood.

"Something like that. Engetsu became fully integrated with my soul and we fought as one against the Hollows. It was then that I decided to accept my father's teachings rather than disregard them like I'd been doing before that,"

"And this is why you decided to teach me these skills. If you'd not experienced it yourself, you wouldn't have bothered teaching me, right?"

"Well…yeah," he says, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Anyway…there you have it. That's the story behind my father Tesshin, my mother Hisako, and my wife and your mother Masaki,"

Silence follows his words.

"What? Say something!" he says, uncomfortable with the staring.

"Normal moms, and two crazy dads. I guess it runs in the family, huh?" Grimmjow obliges.

"Wait…that means Ichigo's gonna be a crazy dad, right?" Hisagi laughs.

"Do the world a favour and kill me now," I deadpan.

"Hey! Don't knock the Kurosaki Kulture of Krazy™!" dad snaps. Like hell, dad!

"Well, that's enough! Let's get back to the lesson, knuckleheads!" I bark.

"Yes sir!" they say in varied tones – energetic for Nel and Grimmjow, sarcastic for Starrk, and bored for Halibel and Ulquiorra. As they draw their wands and concentrate, I let my mind wander and reflect on what I've heard.

Hmm. For all my feigned disinterestedness, that was really an interesting family history. It'd been a shock that my father was a Shinigami, and knowing about those who'd brought him up was enlightening. It was too bad Tesshin-san was gone, but Hisako-san was still around. As soon as I could, I had to go to the 38th District of the Rukongai and meet her. But there was no hurry. I had more important things on my mind – once I was done, a trip to Soul Society was definitely in order. Until then, Hisako-san!

_To be continued_

*There's evidence that Indian Buddhists transmitted martial arts and the concepts of _Ch'an_, or _Zen_, to China and Japan. For more information, look up _Bodhidharma_ on google.

Kurosaki Tesshin and his wife Hisako are obviously OCs, and they won't have much of a role in the story.


	15. Happy Hunger Games

The Next Great Adventure

Chapter 15: Happy Hunger Games

After a boring few months at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the time had finally come for the Triwizard Tournament to properly start. Several weeks of extra-tough lessons – in the form of extra-strict professors, a much larger pile of homework than usual, and more than the normal amount of cramming – were capped off with the arrival of the foreign delegations from Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang Institute.

"This year's the toughest year of learning I've ever faced – but it's completely worth it!" Hinamori Momo sang happily as she walked out of the school grounds with the rest of the Hogwarts students to welcome the foreign guests. Right in front of her were her friends Rukia and Ginny.

"I know, right?" Rukia agreed cheerfully. "We never had foreign exchanges of any kind at our old school at Japan," Obviously she was referring to the Shinigami academy, although she couldn't call it that in front of Ginny.

"Well, neither have we, really," Ginny laughed. "This is the first time we're having foreign visitors for an event of such a scale in more than a century, after all. It's a new experience for us as well,"

"But how'll they be coming? I mean, you can't apparate right in here…"

Ginny raised her eyebrow at Rukia and giggled. "Have you been taking a leaf out of Hermione's book and reading through _Hogwarts: A History_?"

"I have not!" her friend protested, turning red, much to the others' amusement. Within minutes, everyone from Hogwarts was assembled outside the grounds, awaiting the arrival of their foreign counterparts. After a few minutes of waiting – and speculation on how the foreign students would be arriving – Dumbledore said loudly, "Ah – unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons has just arrived!"

Excited cries and shouts saturated the air as everyone looked about for what Dumbledore was referring to. Eventually, a girl spotted it.

"Up there! It's a dragon!"

"No – don't be stupid, it's a flying house!" Dennis Creevey, one of Gryffindor House's new additions, and the younger brother of Colin Creevey. He too turned out to be wrong.

"That's…a coach," Rukia observed, blinking at it.

"Yeah…a coach, pulled by elephant-sized horses," Momo said, also looking dumbstruck. It was a blue coach, pulled by great winged horses across the evening sky. As it came around for landing, everyone got a good look at it, including the denizens of Hogsmeade.

"Whoa! What the hell's that?" Renji remarked, looking at the scene from the window of his room.

"Must be the foreign delegations," Sirius mused. "How flashy,"

Within seconds of its appearance, the coach touched down near the crowd of students, startling many. A young boy jumped out of the door to the ground, and pulled down a very short flight of stairs from the door to the ground, so the rest of his schoolmates could step down with more dignity. He then stood by and bowed respectfully. As the first person exited the coach, everyone fell silent at once.

"Wow…surprises after surprises," Ginny mused. For the woman who had just stepped out of the coach was _massive_. About the size of Hagrid, really. She was olive-skinned and had sleek black hair. Dumbledore stepped forward with a polite smile and kissed her hand.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, my dear Madame Maxime," he said.

With a thick French accent, she said, "Dumbly-dore – I 'ope I find you well," Waving a hand behind her, she said, "My students,"

Everyone looked intently at the students from Beauxbatons.

"Nice uniforms!" Momo gushed. They were wearing uniforms which looked like they were made of fine silk. The gents wore light blue trousers with matching vests and fine dress shirts. The ladies were wearing blue dresses with matching mantles and hats.

"But totally impractical," Rukia observed.

"Well, thanks for pointing that out, Miss Pragmatic," Momo snapped sarcastically.

"What? They look cold!" Rukia protested, while Ginny giggled at their exchange. She was right – while Madame Maxime looked fine, her students were visibly shivering. Noticing this, Dumbledore said, "We're still waiting for Professor Karkaroff and his students. Madame, would you like to go inside the castle and warm up, or will you wait with us?"

"Warm up, I think. But ze 'orses…"

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them," said Dumbledore, "the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other – er – charges."

"Charges?" Rukia asked. "Wait – he isn't talking about those…_things_ he bred, right?"

"Skrewts? Damn right he is," Ron, who was standing nearby, snickered, while Rukia facepalmed and Momo sighed. The third-year students hadn't had to take care of the Blast-ended Skrewts which Hagrid had bred himself, but they still had encounters with the creatures when they made their way to Hagrid's hut for their Care of Magical Creatures lessons.

With that, the delegation from Beauxbatons stepped into the warm interior of Hogwarts castle while everyone else awaited the arrival of the students from Durmstrang. For several minutes, there was silence as everyone scanned the skies, wondering if Durmstrang's students would be arriving in the same way as those from Beauxbatons.

"Hinamori-san…do you feel something from the lake?"

"Yeah. Some reiatsu there. But how come? Is something in there?"

Ginny frowned, "Geez! Why're you two speaking in Japanese again? I don't get a single word of what you're saying!"

"Well, it _is_ our native language," Rukia said defensively. "But more importantly – look at the lake!"

There were some noises coming from the lake, and now, there were large bubbles forming on the surface. As everyone watched on in awe, the surface was suddenly broken by a wooden pole.

"It's…It's a ship!" Harry remarked. He was right. A ship, which looked rather like a wreck, had just risen out of the water and was now gliding sleekly towards the shore of the lake. The students of Durmstrang filed out and walked towards the Hogwarts students. They were all wearing fur coats, which seemed to have been designed with functionality taking priority over aesthetic appeal. They were led by a man with sleek silver furs, the same as his hair. He spread his arms wide as he approached Dumbledore and said loudly, "Dumbledore! How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied. They shook hands and Karkaroff stood for a while, admiring the façade of Hogwarts with a cold smile.

"Viktor – come into the warmth. You don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head-cold," he said, putting his hand on the shoulder of one of his students. Immediately there was a flurry of whispers.

"Oh my God – it's him! It's Viktor Krum!" Ginny said incredulously, nudging Rukia.

"Umm. That's great, I guess. Who is he, again?"

"How can you not know him? He's a world-famous Quidditch player!"

"Well, sorry for not following the sports news! Besides…what's the point in idolising a guy like him? Or anyone for that matter?" Momo said darkly. Sighing at Ginny's slightly scared expression upon seeing Momo's face, Rukia half-jokingly explained, "Ex-boyfriend issues," and Ginny went 'Ohh' in understanding while Momo cried, "Don't call it that! It's got nothing to do with _that_ kind of relationship!" while pinching Rukia's cheek half-playfully, the tension immediately defused.

With the foreign students accounted for, everyone entered the Great Hall where Dumbledore once again made a brief speech of welcome for the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, and also introduced Ludo Bagman and Bartemius Crouch, who were present as well, given that they had a considerable role in the resurrection of the Triwizard Tournament. The two men did not speak much. As Dumbledore welcomed them to feel at home in Hogwarts, some of the girls from Beauxbatons snorted derisively behind their hands.

"Huh…I suppose they must have better facilities in their own school," Hinamori noted.

"Whatever – if they're used to such a comfortable lifestyle, that'll probably work against their favour in the tournament," said Rukia, looking unconcerned, even as Hermione seethed slightly. "What I'm more interested in is how they're gonna select the champions. Maybe one of the two men from the Ministry is the 'impartial judge' Dumbledore mentioned?"

"Not likely. A British judge wouldn't be partial. Either one of those two could easily nominate a strong Hogwarts champion and two weak champions from the other two schools, so that the school from his country has a better chance of winning,"

"That's true…but I really can't see a man like Crouch doing something like that. He looks like he thrives on proper procedure, going by the way he's dressed,"

"That's not the point, Rukia. It doesn't matter how fair the British officials are – the other two headmasters won't allow it. Look at Karkaroff – he may assume the appearance of a jolly, fatherly professor, but he's not fooling anyone. He's shrewd. He wouldn't trust that we'd completely play by the rules. He'd object to a British judge,"

While they had been holding their whispered conversation, Dumbledore had just asked the caretaker, Argus Filch, to bring out a large wooden casket. As it was placed at his feet, Dumbledore opened it and out rose a massive wooden goblet. Dumbledore pointed his wand at its rim and blue flames suddenly filled the goblet.

"How…did they fit something like that inside a chest that small?" Rukia asked incredulously.

"It's an undetectable extension charm," Hermione rattled off. "It allows for large objects to be concealed inside small spaces.

Dumbledore said dramatically, "The Goblet of Fire – this is the impartial judge which will decide who will be the champions to represent the four. All students above the age of seventeen have twenty-four hours to place a piece of parchment with their name and school inside the Goblet. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the Goblet will return the names of the three champions selected to represent their schools in the Triwizard Tournament. To ensure that no student below the age of seventeen places his or her name in the Goblet, I will personally draw an age line around the Goblet,"

"An age line? That's not gonna stop us!" Fred excitedly whispered.

"It won't stop us either, will it?" Hinamori asked in Japanese.

"Probably not, but what's the point in us competing anyway?" Rukia replied.

"There you go again with the Japanese!" Ginny pouted. "Wait…are you two secretly thinking of competing or something?"

All eyes at the Gryffindor table immediately snapped to the two Japanese girls, who froze like a deer in the headlights. Hinamori quickly forced out a laugh.

"No no! We're not thinking of competing! In fact, we just completely ruled out the possibility just then!"

Rukia followed suit. "Yeah! It's not like we have a death wish or anything!"

Everyone looked away in boredom. Soon, dinner ended and Dumbledore sent everyone to their sleeping quarters. Harry went back to his shared dormitory along with the other boys from his House, ignoring Ron, who was fantasising about winning the tournament and lamenting the fact that he could not join. Of course, he had his own fantasies, which he did not tell Ron, as they involved winning not only the tournament and the prize money, but also the heart of a certain beautiful black-haired Ravenclaw student. To occupy his mind before he went to sleep, he took out the Marauder's Map and placed the tip of his wand on it.

"_I solemnly swear I am up to no good_,"

The map came to life, showing the secret corridors of Hogwarts and the people within. After checking on Cho Chang and noticing that she was within the Ravenclaw dormitory, surrounded by a few friends, he quickly looked elsewhere. Oddly, 'Bartemius Crouch' was still in the castle, even though Ludo Bagman seemed to have left already. Maybe he was working out some last-minute details with? But he had said he was busy…

Ignoring it, Harry moved on to other areas of the map. The Hogwarts staff had already moved on to their own quarters and the Durmstrang students were in their ship in the lake. Then, he caught something in the Gryffindor Girls dormitory out of the corner of his eye and took a look. Something odd had just happened to Momo Hinamori. Unfortunately, he missed it. But as he continued looking in that area, what appeared to be the same thing happened to Rukia Kuchiki. Her dot suddenly broke up into two dots. One of the two was labelled 'Rukia Kuchiki', but the other dot was labelled 'Chappy'. Looking at Hinamori, he noticed that her dot was right next to a dot with the same label of 'Chappy'.

What the hell? The two dots labelled Chappy stayed put, but Hinamori and Rukia walked out of their dormitory, indeed, out of the Common Room itself. Harry screwed his eyes up in concentration. Who was Chappy and why were there two people with the same name? Where were the two girls headed? How did the two Chappys appear out of nowhere?

A small voice in his head suggested, "_Last year, 'Peter Pettigrew' appeared on the map as a dot, even though he was masquerading as a rat. Maybe the two Chappys are the girls' pets_,"

That made sense. But why did they have pets with the same names? Too tired to think, and not wanting to ask the girls about it, Harry erased the map and went back to sleep after stowing it away in a safe place.

Meanwhile

Rukia and Hinamori popped their soul pills, and leaving their bodies in their beds with strict instructions to stay put, they left to go walkabout around the castle.

"We've got to be extra-careful this year," Rukia commented.

"Yeah. Right now, we're only acting on Sirius' suspicions that strange things are happening, but we'd be fools to disregard him," Hinamori agreed. "With the tournament and all the people whom we don't know if we can trust, we'd have to be alert,"

"Constant vigilance!" Rukia chimed, mimicking Professor Moody, and her friend laughed. As they walked around, they found Filch patrolling the castle as he usually did at night. As a test, they walked right in front of him, but he didn't seem to notice them.

"Looks like he's not spiritually aware…unless he was pretending not to notice us,"

"That's impossible. He loves catching students breaking rules. Two girls walking about after hours and carrying swords – that's not something he'd just let slide,"

Nodding in agreement, Rukia carried on and after a tour of the other parts of the castle, the two girls found themselves at the entrance to the Great Hall. Oddly, the door had been kept open slightly – just enough for them to enter. Slipping inside, Rukia gasped.

"What is it?" Hinamori asked urgently, half-drawing her sword.

Rukia paused for a while, and only held up her hand. Hinamori raised her eyebrows, but remained silent and did not move. Finally, Rukia said, "D-don't worry. I just got startled, that's all. Come in,"

Hinamori sheathed her sword and stepped inside the Great Hall. She too gasped when she saw what Rukia had seen. Professor Alastor Moody was inside the Great Hall, standing a few metres from the Goblet of Fire. His terrifying appearance, along with the dim lighting, made for a startling scene indeed. He took a swig from his private flask and looked around. All the time, his magical blue eye swung around wildly, but it did not rest on any one spot.

"He can't see us, magical eye or not," Rukia said breathlessly.

"What was he doing here? Why does he look so suspicious?"

"Maybe he's guarding the Goblet? He _is_ the Defence Professor, after all,"

"Possible. What's that white line around the Goblet?" Hinamori pointed at a smoke-like circular white line surrounding the Goblet, much like a halo.

"Is that the age line Dumbledore mentioned?"

"Well, if it is, then…" Hinamori broke off and walked towards the line. Stopping short of it, she composed herself, then stepped inside the line. After a long pause, nothing happened.

"Well. Looks like it really doesn't work on us," Rukia noted. "Well, come on. Let's go back,"

Hinamori agreed and the two girls returned to their dorms.

The Next Day – Halloween

Everyone dressed their best for the annual Halloween dinner, and the Great Hall was decorated appropriately, with just the right amount of darkness and with Jack-O-Lanterns and candles floating around the hall to provide an orange glow. When dinner was over, a beaming Dumbledore walked over to the centre of the hall before the four tables, next to the Goblet of Fire. As everyone watched on in tense silence, Dumbledore said, "Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions." He indicated a door behind the staff table. He waved his wand and extinguished the candles, leaving the hall lit only by the candles inside the lanterns. Now the Goblet was the strongest source of light in the room, and everyone fixated on it like their life depended on it. After what seemed like an eternity, the bright blue flames of the Goblet turned red and violently burst out a little. At this point, a small burned piece of parchment flew out and Dumbledore caught it deftly. Reading from it, he looked up and said authoritatively, "The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum!"

Cheering broke out, spread evenly around the students from all schools, given Krum's fame. He stepped forward and walked through the door Dumbledore had pointed out earlier.

Within minutes, the next name was thrown out. This time, it was for the Beauxbatons champion. Dumbledore announced, "The champion representing Beauxbatons Academy will be…Fleur Delacour!"

There was more applause. Notably, most of the enthusiastic ones were male.

"I think I misjudged them," Rukia commented to Ginny.

"What'd you mean?"

"They looked so delicate and…not very competitive when I first saw them. But look at those," she pointed to two of the Beauxbatons girls, who had broken down in tears, probably because they hadn't been selected. "They wanted _that_ badly to compete,"

As Fleur disappeared into the corridor, the Goblet turned red once more and spat out the third and final piece of parchment. Dumbledore read the name and smiled at the audience, which glared back, not appreciating the suspense.

"The champion for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…is _Cedric Diggory_!"

The Hufflepuff table instantly went wild. All of them stood up and stamped their feet and clapped as Cedric smiled modestly, walking over to the place pointed out by Dumbledore. The Headmaster beamed at the students and started to speak, but was suddenly cut off by the Goblet of Fire turning red once again. There were many gasps among the audience. Why was the Goblet turning red for a fourth time? As if in answer to their unasked question, the Goblet spat out another piece of parchment. Dumbledore hastily caught it and looked at it. His expression turned from puzzled to grim.

"_Harry Potter_," he read out, emotionlessly. The hall collectively gasped.

The next day

"Harry! HARRY! Wait up!" Rukia shouted, as she and Hinamori ran up to the unlikely Triwizard champion, who was with Hermione. Ginny had been with them as well, but when she saw Harry, she slowed down sharply and stood away, determinedly avoiding Harry's eyes.

"We have to talk," Hinamori said breathlessly.

"About what?" came the cold reply. "About how I cheated my way into becoming a champion?"

"Uh…no! It's not like we –"

"First Ron, and now, you?" Harry said, raising his voice slightly. The two girls didn't speak, and the tension rose. Suddenly, Ginny looked right at Harry and shouted, "I don't believe you cheated!" and ran off, her face redder than a tomato. Everyone looked at her incredulously.

"That's…cute," Rukia said aimlessly, then snapped back to her senses. "Look, we don't know what happened, and we want to believe that you didn't cheat. We just want to know if you know how your name ended up in the Goblet, or if anyone has any idea,"

Hermione frowned at her best friend. "Now that I think about it, you were with the professors last night. What did they say?" When Harry hesitated, Hermione urged, "I know Dumbledore wouldn't have believed that you cheated. Surely he spoke in your defence! What did he say? He's a genius; I'm sure he already has some idea of what's going on!"

Hesitantly, Harry told them about the discussion that had happened the previous night. He talked about Karkaroff's suspicions, of Madame Maxime's indignation, and of how even the mild-mannered Cedric hadn't believed him when he denied cheating, although the Hufflepuff champion did not say so out loud.

"Moody thought that someone confunded the Goblet so it would accept me," Harry sighed. "I don't want to compete, but I have to, because I'm magically bound now,"

Rukia said, "I see," she softened her expression and said kindly, "Don't worry too much about it, Harry. We don't believe you cheated. And even though the tournament is dangerous, nobody here wants anyone to die. I don't think the professors will just stand by and let any of the champions get killed. If you need any help in the tournament, don't hesitate to ask, ok?"

Harry smiled. "Thanks Rukia. I…appreciate it,"

Later that day

"And that's what happened," Rukia finished, pressing an earpiece to her ear. The other earpiece was in Hinamori's ear.

"I see," Renji mused. He was on speaker phone with Sirius listening close by. Harry's godfather, who'd been completely silent up till now, croaked, "But how? How did he get his name into the goblet even though there was an age restriction? How did the Goblet fail to choose only one champion for Hogwarts?"

"We both spoke to Harry after it was over," Hinamori said. "He said that the professors convened and discussed it. Harry says he didn't put his own name in the Goblet, and we believe him. So does Dumbledore, and so do Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody. The other Heads didn't believe him, but they don't have any evidence,"

"So Harry's basically innocent until proven guilty?"

"Somewhat. Also, Moody came up with a theory: he thinks that someone entered Harry's name deliberately to put him in the thick of danger. He thought that someone used a Confundus charm on the Goblet to fool it into thinking that four schools were competing, and entered Harry's name under the fourth school – so he would be the champion of that school by default. It made sense, so it was officially accepted. Although, I doubt the other champions and teachers believe it. I think only Professors Moody, Dumbledore and McGonagall believe him,"

"Ok, but how does entering Harry in the tournament put him in danger? He can always refuse to compete, right?"

"No he can't," Sirius said heavily. "Once a champion is selected by the Goblet, they are magically bound to compete. There's no way he can't compete, now that his name's been called out,"

"Oh. Damn. Who could possibly…"

"Voldemort," Rukia said decisively. "Who else would want to kill Harry?"

"That makes sense. We also know he's possibly growing stronger. This could well be his doing," Sirius agreed. "So what's the plan?"

"It's your call, Renji,"

The red-headed captain nominee paused to think.

"Keep monitoring the situation. Try and get a background on anyone in Hogwarts whom you think may have an incentive to kill Harry Potter. I'll help you along the way – although I can't enter the castle 'cause of its protective charms. Watch everyone carefully and see if anyone deliberately tries to put him at a disadvantage or even outright attacks him,"

"I'd recommend looking up Karkaroff. And Snape," Sirius sneered as he said these names. "They both used to be Death Eaters – Voldemort's followers. Focus on them, but, of course, don't lose track of the others. I doubt Madame Maxime actually put Harry's name in the Goblet, but at this point, she's got as much incentive as Karkaroff to try and…'put Harry at a disadvantage'. I don't think I need to say this out loud, but _trust no one_,"

"Got it!" Rukia and Hinamori ended the call, and Sirius shook his head as Renji turned off the speaker.

"What're you so depressed for?" Renji smirked.

"What'd you think? My trouble-prone Godson just got his name entered into a tournament with a high death toll, and on top of that, there are potential enemies everywhere!"

Renji continued smirking as he took out two beers and handed a can to Sirius.

"Don't lie to me. I know some small part of you is actually pleased that he's got this chance to win great glory. Hell, I bet you'd have broken the rules to get a chance to compete if you were in his place!"

"Well…maybe," Sirius admitted.

"Don't worry about it, man. We won't let anything happen to him," Renji said reassuringly. Sirius barked out a laugh and downed his beer.

Ichigo's Point of View

The past few months went by slowly. My dad finished training me and flew back to Japan (thank God). It was tough, but totally worth it. Now I could bring out the full potential of Zangetsu and the inner Hollow. I could also control my power to fight efficiently, without wasting it in a fight.

Along with the training, which kept most days occupied, I also had to dish out my own training to the Arrancar. All of them were, as expected, fast learners – especially Nel and Starrk. While neither of them placed particular value on learning for its own sake, Nel's medical background and Starrk's self-taught engineering skills allowed them to speed up the learning process greatly. That was the brilliant thing about education – it wasn't just about the content learned. It was a mindset which allowed them to take up new skills at a very high rate.

As for Ulquiorra, Grimmjow and Halibel, they were no slouches either. They learned fast as well, although Grimmjow was impatient and kept playing pranks on the others using magic when he got too bored with my lessons – which happened all too often, given his childlike attention span. Luckily, Ulquiorra was always on hand to punish him if he got too out of line. Also, I taught them counter spells, and the all-important _Finite Incantatem_ to undo the effects of spells, so there was no lasting harm.

They still came over for training once in a while, particularly Nel, who wanted to learn more about medical magic – my speciality. In return, they too gave us as much information as they could. We'd already investigated several leads, but none were particularly useful. But the time had come to start on a new, potentially fruitful investigation.

Quite some time back, I had gotten a phone call from Rukia and Renji – there were some really major goings-on at Hogwarts. The Triwizard Tournament had started, and there were no hitches with that – except one…Harry Potter had been chosen as the Fourth champion. Nobody knew for sure how he got selected, even though there already was a Hogwarts champion, and despite the age restriction (which was enforced by magic, so there was no fooling it). But, as Renji had informed me earlier, the professors had a theory which made sense, so I accepted it.

But we didn't care so much about _how_ he became a champion; we were now worried about what was going to happen to him. Lily fainted when she heard it, and then she woke up and almost broke down in tears. James was excited at first, but even he sobered up and confided in me and the other guys that he was absolutely terrified much later on. Rukia didn't gloss over anything in her explanation. She clearly described the tournament, saying that it was extremely dangerous, with an exceedingly high death toll in the past, and besides, the champions, once selected, were bound magically to compete. Even if he didn't want to be a champion, Harry _had_ to participate.

Well well well. Harry was in a _really_ big pinch this time. And boy, did Rukia sound worried about the fate of this underdog! For one thing, Harry's competitors were all at least three years older than him – at this age, an age gap of three years usually means a big difference in physical prowess. He was facing two Quidditch players, one of whom was a full-on professional playing at an international level. Quidditch wasn't easy – it was very demanding and those two guys would be at their physical peak, with reflexes and senses that an F1 Racecar driver would give anything to have. Harry was also apparently a good player, but the others were either on par with him, or better. I didn't know about the other champion – the girl – but she too had to be very powerful, if she'd been selected as a champion. And then there was the death toll of Tournaments in the past. Lily refused to even talk to James for being so excited and cavalier about his son's fate over the next few months. Well, at least the rest of us can actually catch some sleep over the next few nights, if you know what I mean.

But while all that was interesting, it was irrelevant to what I had to do. Rukia had told us that the First Task of the tournament was taking place on November 24th. That was the chance Ichimaru and I were waiting for. While just about everyone was preoccupied with the tournament, we both would go into Hogwarts and search the library for information on Horcruxes. Hopefully we would find what we were looking for, or something else useful, at least. I started a conference call with Rukia and Renji to coordinate with them.

"Rukia, Renji, I need to tell you both about my plans. Ichimaru and I are gonna infiltrate the castle on the 24th. We'll be going to the library to do our research,"

"What're the details?" Renji asks.

"I'll get the Arrancar to open a Garganta to the village, and then we'll meet you in your room at the inn. We'll leave our bodies there so we can get into the castle in our Shinigami forms,"

"How about the protections on the castle grounds? Since you're no longer a staff member, you won't be able to enter, right?" Rukia asks.

"Don't worry about that. James and Lily've got that covered,"

"Sirius isn't too happy about this, Ichigo. You know what he thinks of all this, right?"

"Yeah – someone's trying to kill Harry by placing him in the tournament, correct?"

"Pretty much, yeah. What'd you think we should do about that?"

"I don't know," I admit. "The only person I can think of who'd want to kill him would be Voldemort – or his followers. And we know there's some kinda link between him and Aizen. I guess we ought to keep an eye on him, and the people around him, and see if there's anyone who looks like they want to harm him. If you find anyone like that, just catch them and force them to tell us all they know. Look out for people whom you think may sabotage the games to put him in danger – or rather, more danger than usual. In fact…ok, tell you what, when I come over to Hogsmeade, I'll bring you guys a reiatsu detector – the same one I used back when I was working at Hogwarts last year. Use it to see if you can detect Aizen's reiatsu anywhere near the castle – just in case our man decides to get personally involved,"

"Got it! Oh, and tell James and Lily not to worry – we'll look out for their son's well-being," said Rukia kindly.

"If that's all, Ichigo, Sirius and I'll keep waiting for any fresh clues. See you on the 24th, then,"

With that, I said bye, ended the call and called up Ichimaru to confirm my plans with him.

24th November – the day of the first task

Just as planned, without any hitches, Ichimaru and I arrived at Hogsmeade in the early morning, via a Garganta which Ulquiorra was kind enough to open for us, as all the other Arrancar had a preference for lying in. He'd been surprised to see his former colleague, Ichimaru, but he didn't ask any questions. Once we were in Hogsmeade, where, thankfully, there was virtually zero human traffic, we made our way over to the Hog's Head and stepped inside. The elderly, suspicious-looking bartender, who looked a hell of a lot like Dumbledore, gruffly pointed us to Renji's room when we asked him and we walked inside, careful not to touch the dirty-looking walls. Renji opened the door quickly when we knocked and said, "Hey, Ichigo," Looking more suspicious, he glared at Ichimaru and forced a greeting.

"Hey, don't be like that, Renji-kun," Ichimaru purrs. "I'm a good boy now,"

"Good boy, my foot," Renji scoffs. "Too bad I can't do anything about you, now that you're with the Agency,"

Shaking his head at the snakelike double-agent, he said casually, "Leave your bodies – and the reiatsu detector – here. I'll hide them before going on to the Tournament,"

"You'll be there?" I asked, surprised. I'd thought that only the students could watch the tournament.

"Yeah. I'm working for Spintwitches* – they sponsored some of the gear there, so they allowed the staff to come watch,"

"Oh, great. Tell us how it went later,"

With that, we donned our special gloves and facepalmed, ejecting our Shinigami forms from our bodies. Leaving them in Renji's room, we jumped out of the window and went over to Hogwarts to do our job. James and Lily had passed us special items made by the Agency to counter the protective spells around Hogwarts. Basically, these items looked like rings, but were much more than mere pieces of metal – specialists in the Agency had cast spells on them to keep the alarm from being raised, and to keep us from automatically being thrown out by the magical defences. Slipping the rings on our fingers, we walked over to the castle gates, where there were no guards, thankfully. Opening it and getting inside, we walked briskly along the corridors, making our way to the libraries.

"Hey…what's that noise?" Ichimaru asked, unbuttoning his blazer and taking it off, since it was much warmer inside the castle than outside.

"Dunno. Must be from the games outside," I shrug it off. But those noises were somewhat disturbing. It was almost like hearing an animal roar from a long distance away. But that didn't concern us – even if something happened outside, Renji, Rukia and Hinamori were on hand to deal with it. Soon, we got into the library. Luckily, it hadn't been locked (not that it would've been a problem anyway).

"The restricted section is over there – I'll go have a look inside."

"Ok. I'll scan the rest of the shelves then. Remember, look generally for ways to revive a person after death, and look specifically for Horcruxes,"

"Got it," I say, and commence my search. There's a great deal of books and I have to trust that each one has a complete index – 'cause it's much faster to look through the index looking for keywords like 'immortality' or, of course, 'Horcrux'. There are many mentions of immortality – but these books recommend the use of a Philosopher's Stone. Upon reading further, I found out that there was a man named Nicholas Flamel who had successfully created this object that could create a legitimate elixir of life.

"Hey, Ichimaru – what about the Philosopher's Stone? Think Aizen may be using that?"

Without batting an eyelid, he says, "Not likely. I've read about the Stone, and I know it's used to delay a person's death indefinitely – not to revive them _after_ it's happened. Besides, Aizen wouldn't have used it because it would've been impractical for him. The main threats to his life are physical injuries. I'm betting even those can be healed by the elixir of life, but there's hardly any time for him to sup the elixir in the middle of battle. It'd make more sense for him to employ a different method, one that allows him to die and then come back to life,"

"Oh…" I say, stumped. "Well, in that case, I don't have anything. This book was pretty much my last hope for the restricted section, and it doesn't have anything on Horcruxes. In fact, there's only one mention of Horcruxes in the entire section," I handed him the book which contained that one reference. It was a book titled '_Magick Moste Evile'_. The introduction had a line that went "_Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction_".

"Well, that's really helpful," Ichimaru snorts, tossing the book back. "Not much luck here either. This part of the library is completely kid-friendly. Not a single mention of how to perform the Dark Arts,"

"Damn. So we're unlucky again," I commented.

"Aren't there any other places in this damn castle with books?" he asks impatiently.

"I don't think so. I have no clue, actually," I admit. He sighs, frustrated, and plops down on a table. We fall silent, both contemplating our next move.

"Maybe the staff have their own books," he muses.

"Maybe…but I don't want to break into their personal belongings or anything," I warn, and he purses his lips in disappointment. There's a long silence.

"Maybe…" I try.

"Wait – shut up," he suddenly says.

"What? Excuse me?"

"No! Listen! D'you hear that?" he asks, looking around the place. I copy him, straining to hear what he hears. Is that a distant screech? It's getting nearer! Then, the whole castle shakes violently for a second.

"Ahh! What the hell? Was that an earthquake?" I shout, freeing myself from the pile of books that just dropped on my head. Ichimaru is already at the window, looking outside.

"My god…I don't believe it! Ichigo-kun, take a look at this!"

I hurry over to the window and take a look at what's going on.

WHAT. THE. HELL.

There's a freaking _dragon_ clinging to the wall outside! It's roaring and clawing at something. I step outside to get a better look, using spirit particles to levitate myself in mid-air. Another big shock is waiting for me.

"_Harry_?" I choke out, forgetting that the young wizard can't hear me. Right now, he's perched upon one of the spires on top of the castle, trying to avoid the dragon. How the hell did he end up there? I scan the surroundings and notice that there's a broomstick stuck on one of the other nearby spires.

"He must have flown up there and lost control of his broomstick," muses Ichimaru, who's joined me in midair. It looks as if Harry can't see us. Even if he's got a dragon to worry about, the sight of two men standing on thin air should be enough to distract anyone.

"Trying to escape from the dragon, I suppose," I scratch my head, perplexed. "Is this the first task of the Triwizard Tournament? Avoiding a dragon?"

"Who knows? Maybe there's something more to it?"

Suddenly, my phone beeps and I look at it. It's a text message.

"Hell of a time to be checking your text messages!" Ichimaru says, exasperated. I ignore him and look at the text, which is from Rukia. It reads "_The first task: Champions face a dragon defending several eggs, including one special golden egg. Their task is to successfully steal the golden egg from the dragon. They took turns, and each champ faced a different dragon – Harry's doing it now. He used summoned his broomstick and is trying to outfly his Hungarian Horntail (that's the name of his dragon)_"

I read out the text to Ichimaru.

"Wow, she sure has a penchant for detail, huh?" he remarks.

"Yeah. Ever since she became lieutenant, she's been like that. It kinda gets annoying at times; she sends you a long text and you feel somewhat obligated to give a long reply…hey, are you listening?" I asked suspiciously. He seemed to have spaced out.

"Of course…" he says quietly, looking incredulous. "We can summon them!"

"Summon what?"

"The books from the teachers' rooms!" he says excitedly, stepping back into the building. I stay on just for a short while longer to watch Harry grab his broom again thanks to the dragon swiping around with its horned tail and causing the broomstick to fall off its spire. He flew off and the dragon took off in hot pursuit.

"Good luck, bro," I say, flipping a jaunty salute in his direction, before following Ichimaru.

"Something in that text message set you off?" I ask.

"Yeah – that kid apparently used a summoning charm to get his broomstick. We could do the same!"

"You sure? You're basically saying we summon all books from the castle to this place?"

"Not all books. We can make it a more surgical search," he says. "Of course, there may be protective charms all around to prevent theft. But if I used enough power…"

He draws his wand and points it at the ceiling. Before I can argue against it, he casts the spell. Before he recites the incantation, he focuses his power into the wand, as seen by a thick bright blue line of spirit energy snaking around his arm and winding around his wand tightly.

"_Accio all-books-in-the-castle-that-have-more-information-on-Horcruxes-than-these-pathetic-tomes-here!_" he shouts, releasing the energy.

"That's a stupid thing to say," I deadpan. He glares at me, as nothing happened. Then, suddenly, a window shatters to pieces – by a bunch of books smashing through all at once.

"The hell? It actually worked!" I shout.

"Oh ye of little faith," Ichimaru says wisely, trying to keep the smirk off his face. I ignore him and take a look at the books. One interests me – _Secrets of the Darkest Art_. Ichimaru picks up another book from the small pile and starts flipping through it.

"Hmm…this one's a history on Horcruxes," he comments, without looking up. "Apparently, the first person to ever make a Horcrux was a man called Herpo the Foul. He…hey, are you listening?"

Oh God. Oh. My. God. This book is _disgusting_! Words fail to describe the revulsion that rises from the depths of my soul as I read its contents. I slam it shut before holding it at arms length.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" I dash over to the smashed window and double over, emptying the contents of my stomach onto the grounds beneath. After a few dry heaves, I fall to the ground. Despite the thick jeans I'm wearing (since I don't usually bother with the Shihakusho in my spirit form), some of the glass penetrates them and I get a few cuts on my knees and on my hands when I reflexively slam them on the ground to support myself.

"Hey – you alright?" Ichimaru asks, walking over quickly, and supporting me.

"Yeah – I'm…fine, I guess,"

"What brought that on? These books are old – maybe there's something in them that set off an allergic reaction?"

"No – no allergies," I gasp. "The book's content itself – it was so disgusting I just had to throw up. Oh God. I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks,"

Confused, he picked up the book from where I had dropped it and leafed through it.

"Don't! It's not pretty!" I protest weakly. He ignores me and focuses on reading. His facial expression hardly changes throughout. When he's done, he puts the book down and, with a perfect poker face, says, "Well, that was pretty awful!"

Irritated, I cry, "How the hell are you not…put off by that?"

"I've seen a lot of terrible things in my life," he says with a shrug. "Anyway, this is good stuff! This is exactly what we're looking for! It talks about what a Horcrux is, and how it's made, and how to destroy it. I only skimmed through the contents, but it looks like it could really be up Aizen's alley,"

"I see,"

"Only problem is, I don't know how to bring this back to HQ,"

"Leave that to me," I've already cleaned myself up and taken care of my injuries using magic. I draw my wand and point it at the pile of books, "_Geminio_,"

Instantly, copies of all the books are made. I start pushing them roughly into my bag.

"The copies aren't supposed to last long, but I used quite a bit of power – so they'll exist for longer than usual,"

"Good. We can make permanent copies back at HQ," he says. He points his wand at the pile of genuine books he summoned and returns them to their rightful places with _Finite Incantatem_, while I use _Reparo_ on the window. The wall's slightly damaged, but I leave it be – the dragon damaged it, not me. Besides, it'll look odd if the whole castle remained undamaged after a dragon threw itself onto it. We return to the Hog's Head and get into our human bodies, waiting for Renji to return. He doesn't take long – the First Task had already ended by the time we left the castle. Once he's in, he casts a spell on the door what prevents anyone outside from listening in, and I start a conference call with Rukia and the guys back at 15 King's Road.

"Alright, can everyone hear me?"

"Yeah. What about Hinamori and Kuchiki?" Toshiro says.

"Yeah, we're good," they say. Everyone in Chelsea, as well as the four of us in the Hog's Head, is on speaker mode, while Rukia and Hinamori are apparently sitting in a remote corner of Hogwarts and using earpieces on their phone so that nobody can overhear what we're discussing.

"Very good," I say. "Looks like this wasn't a wild goose chase after all. Ichimaru and I found some useful information in Hogwarts library. We think it could explain how Aizen's still around even though his death was confirmed years ago,"

Grudgingly, Toshiro says, "Good. Tell us what you found, then,"

"There is a magical item called a Horcrux," Ichimaru explains. "Few have even heard the term, and among those in the know, it's considered to be the darkest of all dark objects. To put it simply – and I'm reading this from the book as I go – a Horcrux is a physical object that stores the fragment of a human being's soul,"

There were a few 'what's upon hearing that. I continued, "The book says that this is a way to become immortal. Apparently, according to wizard research, a person's soul goes to the afterlife upon death, but by creating a Horcrux, they can bind a portion of their soul to the earth. That way, when their body dies, they can use the spirit portion to create a new body – or at least, that's the idea behind this. Now…you guys know more than me about how souls move from earth to Soul Society – D'you think this Horcrux idea makes sense?"

There is a pause before Toshiro says, "Even we don't know everything about this topic. Personally, I don't believe it. The idea of fragmented souls doesn't make any sense in the first place. Even if we were to assume that it's all true and that souls can be safely broken, I don't see the point of keeping a piece of it on the earth. Wouldn't it make more sense if the soul were to stick around on earth after death and find a new body? Nobody's seen it done in practice, but if Shinigami can do it, maybe ordinary souls with a slight bit of Spiritual Energy can pull it off,"

Lily interjects, "Maybe, but here in England, there are very few souls that actually stay around on earth. Most souls just move on to Soul Society on their own. We do face Hollows often, but these prey on living humans, and most of them are born in other countries. Only a few souls actually become Hollows on British turf."

"Really? That's very different from Japan," I remark.

"Yeah. We don't know why this happens, but I remember one of my colleagues suggesting a theory," James says. "He pointed out that Japan had a much higher suicide rate than Britain. When people did of suicide, their souls pop out, feeling depressed and unhappy – so they linger around. But in Britain, the lower suicide rates suggests a slightly happier society. There are less people who die with many regrets, so there are fewer souls lingering around. Although, of course, there are so many assumptions made that his argument was quickly shot down. It doesn't really make much sense to begin with any – "

"James, you're rambling,"

"Oh, sorry Lily. Anyway, the point is, it's theoretically possible. Ichigo – go on,"

"Sure. This book contains a description on how Horcruxes are made, but I'm not gonna go into that,"

"Why not?" Toshiro asks sharply.

"One: Because it's irrelevant. Two: It's really horrid. I threw up after reading it. But don't worry. You'll still keep a copy of it in case you absolutely must refer to it in the future," I ignored the excited murmurs that followed – those idiots loved horror flicks and the thought of something that made me throw up turned them on to the max. "Anyway, it says here that a Horcrux can look like anything. All you need is any physical object to store that soul fragment. You can use a book, a house, or an old ceramic plate. You can even use living animals or human beings as Horcruxes."

Toshiro swore. "So that soul fragment could be anywhere in Britain, in any random object! Hell, he could've put it in anything from a blade of grass to Buckingham Palace!"

We chuckle, and Ichimaru says, "That's true, but I think it's unlikely that Aizen would've done that. The book goes on to say that after the person who made the Horcrux died, he needs a living assistant to perform a series of tasks that will eventually give him a real body. First of all, the soul has to be given a temporary human body, or something remotely resembling it, and sustained using a substance or a potion on par with the elixir of life. And then, another complicated ritual has to be performed to give the deceased a proper human body. If Aizen wanted his cronies to find him and properly resurrect him after his death, he would've made his Horcrux a little more…_obvious_,"

That made sense, and some of us agreed. Toshiro paused, and then sighed, coming to a conclusion.

"We don't have any better theories. Since this is the only one that works, we'll assume that Aizen did create a Horcrux and used it to come back from the dead. There's still a lot we need to know, like how the Horcrux is made and how we could test if an object is a Horcrux, but we can discuss that in-depth when Kurosaki gets back. Ichimaru – I want you to be there too. We need to talk,"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Ichimaru smirks. We're both pleased. Even though Toshiro was so sure that we wouldn't find anything useful, we managed to come up with the one and only working theory on how Aizen came back to life after his death. I turned to him and shook his hand.

"Good job!"

"I know, right!" he says, grinning back.

"I can't believe you guys beat the rest of us to it!" Renji chuckles, taking some warm Butterbeers and passing them to us and Sirius. I then turn to end the call, but Lily shouts out, "Before you go, Rukia, how did –"

" – Harry do on his task?" Rukia finishes. "He did great! Basically, the champions were told to steal a golden egg from a nest guarded by a dragon. The other champions tried distracting or even attacking the dragon, but Harry did something radically different!"

James asked urgently, "Did he fly? _Could _ he fly?"

"Yes he did! He Summoned his broom and took off! He flew around the castle and the dragon followed him. Later we found that it got trapped somewhere, so he was able to fly back to the nest and take the egg. He was tied for first place with the champion from Durmstrang, Viktor Krum!"

I quickly reduced the volume before everyone's (except Toshiro) ecstatic cheers became too noisy.

"We saw him from the library! The dragon almost got him cornered on one of the spires on top of Hogwarts, but he managed to escape anyway. That was pretty epic!"

"Was he…injured?" Lily has to force out the last word.

"He _did_ get some injuries from getting grazed by the dragon's tail, but it's nothing serious! It wasn't a particularly serious wound, and he was quickly fixed up by Madam Pomfrey," Hinamori says reassuringly.

"Oh thank God!" Lily says. I can already imagine her sinking into a soft armchair while James pours some wine into a glass for her.

"Looks like he inherited your skill, James!" Sirius chuckles. James couldn't even come up with a coherent reply. Was he…crying? Shaking my head at him, I ended the call. Ichimaru and I finished our Butterbeers and returned to Chelsea with our booty of copied books. The job was done; now we had to chase down Aizen with what information we had.

_To be continued_

*Spintwitches is a sports shop in Hogsmeade. It was not stated if this shop endorsed the Triwizard Tournament in canon, so that bit about sponsoring gear is made up.

J K Rowling personally devised a method to create Horcruxes, but it was so horrifying that her editor almost threw up. Needless to say, it wasn't published.


	16. How the Agency Stole Christmas

The Next Great Adventure

Chapter 16: How the Agency Stole Christmas

I thoroughly enjoyed the month after our discovery regarding Horcruxes. Ichimaru came with me to Chelsea to properly meet with Toshiro, and, boy, was that a fun meeting. Toshiro was still very cold towards Ichimaru, who took the whole thing quite lightly, much to the amusement of several of us. Thank God Hinamori wasn't there; I'd heard that one of their last meetings in Soul Society had ended with her trying to attack him.

But the past aside, Ichimaru had proven his worth, and while Toshiro still didn't trust him, he had no choice but to let him contribute to the team as an unofficial member. The benefits far outweighed the costs, after all. As for our work, Toshiro was really pleased, despite his supremely unconcerned appearance, and practically let me off most duties for the next month, leaving the uncovering of new leads and evidence to Hisagi or Ikkaku instead – although I tagged along anyway 'cause I didn't have anything better to do.

But there was one important date on my calendar – Christmas day. It was the day of the so-called Yule Ball, which Dumbledore had invited me for earlier this year after I resigned from my old job as a Mediwizard in Hogwarts. I had already gone out shopping to get some smart clothes for the occasion, and I'd arranged transportation as well – James would come along with me to bring me to Hogsmeade via apparition, which was basically magical teleportation, and then return to London. As for coming back, I could call up one of the Arrancar to bring me back via Garganta.

Rukia had called me up a few days back to tell me about the details. Just as I'd discussed with Madam Malkin in her shop months ago, the ball was supposed to promote socialising and bonding between the students from the different schools. It was open to students in fourth year or older, although younger students could go if they were asked by an older student to be their date. Although, I didn't personally expect that this rule would be seriously enforced. A party like this doesn't happen every week; just about everyone would want in on it. It was also compulsory for the four champions to have a date as they would be in the centre of attention during the opening ceremony of the Ball, and it would be embarrassing if one of them had failed to get a date.

Speaking of dates, what was I gonna do? The obvious choice was to ask Rukia. The age gap would make it a little weird, though. Of course, I'm not talking about the real gap in our ages; I'm talking about the fact that people in Hogwarts _think_ I'm 19 while Rukia is 13. I _am_ 19, but Rukia is physically about 17* (although she has lived for much longer than that). So…how?

Oh screw it. I'll ask her along but leave the explanation to her. She can spin whatever story she wants to her friends at Hogwarts to explain why her date is so much older than her. Everyone except me seems susceptible to her dramatic lies anyway.

Christmas Day

Finally, it's the day of the big event. I get changed – into a black three-piece suit, over a white shirt with a black tie.

"Classy!" James remarks. "Ok, now grab my arm and we can apparate to Hogsmeade. And loosen that tie – the sensation of apparating is not a pleasant one!"

"Sure thing!" I do as he says and grab his arm tightly. He's right – the sensation really isn't pleasant, and that's putting it mildly! Nothing could've prepared me for this. It's like being forced through a narrow tube. But thankfully, it only lasts for a second, and when I look around, I'm no longer standing outside 15 King's Road; instead, I'm in Hogsmeade Village. It's snowing lightly, creating a magical effect. The village is empty – just as I thought, everyone's either inside Hogwarts or milling around outside the castle if they can't enter the grounds.

"Hey!" someone calls out, walking towards us. It's Renji. Because of the 'generous contribution' made by Spintwitches, the shop he works for, during the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, all the staff members of that shop were allowed to come along to the Yule Ball. He was dressed exactly like me, except his clothes are grey rather than black.

"Ready to go?"

"Of course!" I smile at him. James bids us goodbye and disappears in an instant. We both walk up to the castle and enter – using the tickets which we've been issued beforehand. Even from outside, the castle is very nicely decorated. There are fairies floating about, carrying lights around the castle, and there are several Christmas trees around as well. We both stepped inside the massive entrance hall.

"Ahh, how nostalgic! I remember when Hagrid brought us here so I could meet the professors for my job interview!"

"What'd you mean?" Renji smirks. "You were here barely a month ago!" and we both laugh. There are students all over the place, along with some adults. Renji waves to a man and a woman who are standing at the other end of the hall – presumably they were his colleagues at Spintwitches. Many of the students recognise me and wave or smile – including Parkinson, the annoying girl who'd come to me for a prescription just so she could skip lessons. I forced myself not to laugh, remembering the diagnosis of 'Parkinson's Disease' I gave her. Still, it was good to be remembered by so many here. I was so sure they'd forgotten the rough, scowling young medic who helped patch them up with a sardonic comment on their carelessness or stupidity – not that I deliberately _offended_ anyone, of course. My manner when dealing with patients wasn't _that_ bad.

"Hey…is that James' son?" Renji nudges me, pointing to a couple standing some distance away. He's right – it is Harry Potter, dressed in his dark green dress robes. With him is a pretty girl who looks South Asian. She's dressed in what I guess is her traditional ethnic attire, complete with many bangles. It's shocking pink, which almost causes my eyes to water after looking at her for a few seconds. I notice that Ron's with her sister. I wave at them, and they look at me incredulously for a few seconds before waving back. I guess they just forgot that I was coming too.

"Hey guys," I say casually, approaching them. "Where's Hermione?"

"That's what we'd like to know," Harry shrugs.

"Rukia told me about your performance against the dragon. Good work!" I congratulate him.

"Oh – thanks. I got lucky," he says modestly. "I got the egg – the clue to the next Task, but I have no idea how to interpret the clue,"

"Is that so? Well, good luck with that, then. Snuffles wishes all the best,"

"How is he?"

"Oh, holding up fine," Renji says. "It's not like last year when he had to take care to hide himself all the time. Besides, he keeps himself occupied with reading the news and trying to work out what…'the other side' is trying to do,"

Before we can say any more –

"Ichigo! Renji!" We whip around and crack smiles upon seeing that our friends had just arrived. Rukia was wearing a simple dark blue gown, the same colour as her eyes. Hinamori was in a peach-coloured dress and matching high-heels – fitting, given her first name means 'peach'.

"_Kirei na!_" Renji and I chorus – 'You look pretty!'. We both sharply glance at one another for saying the same thing, and the girls laugh out loud.

"Thanks. You both look pretty smart yourselves! I never thought I'd live to see the day Abarai-kun actually dolls up!"

"This isn't called 'dolling up'!" Renji snaps, turning red.

"Nice try, Renji. We all know about the floral robe you wear off-duty!"

"What? He wears a floral robe?" I ask incredulously, slapping Renji's shoulder. Luckily, nobody says anything about our choice of dates. Soon, the clock strikes 8, and it's time to enter the Great Hall. Taking Rukia's hand, I walk in. Renji does the same with Hinamori – I'm surprised he actually does it easily and without hesitation. Looks like he can be mature when he wants to! Smirking slightly, I take a look at the decorations – they're stunning! The walls are shining slightly, looking like they're made of ice. The ceiling was dotted with stars, like it usually was, but there were more decorations – there were also many garlands of ivy and mistletoe on it.

"It's so pretty!" Rukia comments, also looking up and about. "It's…literally magical!"

"Yeah! Now I'm really glad I volunteered to go to Hogwarts with you two,"

The champions are now seated with their partners at a table with Dumbledore and some others.

"Whoa – look at the size of that woman!" I mutter. "Who is she?"

"Oh, that's Madame Maxime – she's the headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy. The man with the goatee is Igor Karkaroff, the headmaster of Durmstrang Institute. As the heads of the other two participating schools, they're both on the board of judges,"

"Ah. So that's who they are. Interesting. How're the students from the other schools? You socialise with them?"

"Not really. It's a shame, they seem pretty interesting. They don't usually talk to us Gryffindors. The Durmstrang guys usually interact with the Slytherins, if at all. The Beauxbatons students are usually with the Ravenclaws. Other than that…" she breaks off and shrugs.

"Notice anything odd about them?"

"Nope. I was expecting Karkaroff to be…'odd', since he used to be a Death Eater, but…nothing,"

"Well, that's alright, then. It doesn't matter. We haven't had much success either, when it comes to Voldemort. You guys are doing fine as you are, so just keep up the good work!"

As we were talking, a band made its way up to the stage, and the lights were dimmed.

"What the hell…?" Renji frowned, his mouth hanging open slightly. I sympathised with him: this band was very…_weird_. They wore black robes that were torn in many places. They had very wild and long hair too. But they seemed popular. Everyone applauded as they took their positions with their instruments. Time for the dance to start, I guess. The champions went first. For a few minutes, the focus was on the four pairs dancing slowly in the centre of the hall.

"Heh. Poor Harry! He's practically being led by his girl!" I crack. Rukia and Renji laugh, but Hinamori looks distracted. She suddenly snaps her fingers.

"Oh my God! It's Hermione!" she says, pointing to one of the couples.

"Took you long enough to recognise her!" someone says behind us – it's Ginny Weasley, with her date.

"Ginny! Good to see you again!" I say, raising a hand in greeting. Her date extends a hand, looking nervous.

"Hi…Mr. Kurosaki, was it? I'm Neville Longbottom," he says in a quiet voice. I shake his hand firmly and smile.

"Nice to meet you, Neville. You can call me Ichigo," I'd learned a long time ago how to deal with nervous people. Simply dropping the scowl and paying attention to people was all it took.

"She looks…stunning! And she's with Krum!" Hinamori says, shaking her head slowly, her gaze still fixated on Hermione. She quickly whips out a digital camera and snaps a few photos.

"Put those on Facebook, ok?" I remind her, and she gives me a thumbs-up.

"What's a…Facebook?" Ginny asks.

"Oh, it's a…" Not sure how to explain Facebook, I simply evaded the question and turned to the champions. At this point, people had started joining the dance floor, teachers and students alike.

"Shall we go?"

"Yeah!" Rukia grabbed my hand and we went off to dance. All the Council members at my old school had to learn dancing , and Ishida, Tatsuki and I excelled at it – Ishida guessed it was because we had developed a natural grace through the many fights we got in. Luckily, I was able to lead the dance, so I didn't end up losing some dignity like Harry did.

"You know…there was one instructor I had back in the Spiritual Arts Academy who said that dance was a good way to calm down your reiatsu,"

"Really? Does it work?"

"Not really," she shakes her head. "I'm constantly worried you'll step on my feet,"

"Oh come on! I'm not gonna step on your feet!" I chuckle – then she steps on my feet.

"Ow!"

"Oh! Sorry, Ichigo! See, this is why you should lead!" she says, concerned.

"I _was_ leading…" I groan. Her high heels are freaking sharp! Thankfully, the song ends soon.

"Let's take a break. I don't think your feet will appreciate any more dancing," she jokes, and we walk off the floor. At that point, someone comes over to talk to me; it's none other than Albus Dumbledore.

"Ichigo! How've you been?" he asks, his eyes twinkling, as usual.

"Oh, hey, Headmaster. It's been a while!" I shake his hand. "I've been well. A little busy, but luckily, I was able to find time to come here. Thanks for the invite!"

"I'm glad you were able to join us," he says graciously. A thought comes to mind. What does Dumbledore think of all the things going on nowadays? What does he think of the possibility that Harry's in danger? About Voldemort possibly coming back, going from the 'terrorists' I encountered a while back at the Quidditch World Cup? Maybe I should test it out.

"Y'know, I was at the Quidditch World Cup. I was there when those weird guys came out and started attacking people. And now I'm hearing funny rumours on how Voldemort is coming back or something like that,"

"I see," he says. Did his eyes just flicker? "And what do you think of these rumours, Ichigo?"

"Well, I certainly hope they're not true!" I chuckle, forcing a mildly-horrified expression. "Maybe then…maybe then the good times can continue," I finish soberly, glancing around the room.

"Indeed," he says, his eyes twinkling again. "Well, enjoy yourself, Ichigo!"

"Yeah, I will!" I smile back, and go to join my friends. Things have now slowed down somewhat. People are walking on and off the dance floor at their own leisure. Unfortunately, more than a few of our acquaintances seem to be completely unenthusiastic. Harry and Ron have taken a seat, and seem to be ignoring their dates. And Ron is seething at Hermione and at Viktor Krum when he thinks nobody is watching.

"What's his problem?" Rukia asked Hinamori.

She looks at her like she's an idiot, then glances at us. Renji and I shrug. She's always been a little…slow when it comes to…'matters of the heart', as Hinamori might have called it.

"What?"

"Alright – let's do this logically. Maybe that way you'll get it through your thick skull," she says sarcastically – she loves knocking Rukia for being overly rational and logical.

"Well, go on, Professor Hinamori!" Rukia quips sarcastically and she laughs heartily before starting her explanation.

"Ron absolutely adores Krum,"

"Yeah…"

"But when he takes Hermione as his date for the Yule Ball, he suddenly sees Krum as 'the enemy',"

"That's true…"

"Why?"

"Eh? Uhh…well. I suppose because…he's jealous…"

She beams at her.

"Close enough!"

"…Of her,"

Her smile falls as quickly as it appeared on her face.

"Ok, looks like this one needs a little more work," she comments offhandedly to the rest of us, and we laugh. It sure was a fun evening. But unfortunately, it was not to last.

As many Third Division members can tell you, it's easy to tell when former Captain Ichimaru Gin is in a pinch – he simply stops smiling. When he starts frowning, that's when you know things are _really_ bad. That's when you shut the hell up and pay attention to what he has to say or else.

So when the unsmiling fox approached us, looking dead serious, walking briskly and said, "You three. Out. Now," we obeyed. No questions asked.

As soon as we're out of the Great Hall, Ichimaru starts talking.

"The Agency's turned against us,"

_What?_ We're all thrown by this sudden announcement. Hinamori hurriedly grabs Rukia's shoulder for support. Her panic is understandable – she's closer to Toshiro than any of us, so the news that he's been captured hits her hard.

The Agency's been so supportive up till now. Why'd they suddenly decide that we're their enemies? And is everyone alright? What if they decide to torture them for information, or even 'dispose' of them? I breathe deeply and calm myself.

"Why?"

"I don't know why. But they sent out their men to arrest everyone from the team – along with James and Lily,"

"What about you? And how do you know this?"

"They're not after me. And I know about this 'cause some idiot up there – ," he gestures upwards, indicating heaven, in other words the British Soul Society. " – accidentally sent me a message ordering me to help arrest the Japanese Shinigami in London. He then sent me a text repealing the previous order and refused to give me further information. Obviously they wanted to keep this a secret from me, but failed at that,"

He clears his throat and continues, "I also just called Lily – she managed to escape along with Shirogane Mihane, and they're in the car headed for Surrey,"

"What do we do then?"

He answers coolly. "Don't ask me what to do. You two are captain nominees – think of something!"

I'm surprised by his statement…But why should I be? This is an emergency – we're the ones who are supposed to be taking action and showing leadership at times like this.

"Obviously, we've got to get to Lily and Mihane, and prevent them from getting arrested," Renji says quickly. "Rukia – could you call the Arrancar? We could use a Garganta to get back,"

Rukia nods and calls up Nel. Meanwhile, I decide to call Lily.

"Lily? What going on there?"

"Ichigo! James and the others – they've been captured and brought to Agency headquarters!"

"I know about that – wait, they've been brought to HQ? As in, to the British Soul Society?"

"Yeah. Right now, we're in the car, about 3 hours from Surrey, if we're lucky,"

Rukia interjects, "Nobody's picking up! Not Nel, not Starrk, nobody!"

"Lily! Are there any other ways to get to London from here?"

"You can't apparate, can you?"

"No! None of us can!"

"Then how about flying? There'll definitely be a few brooms in Hogsmeade – you can swipe a few and fly down!"

"Well…we've never flown before either, but I suppose that's our only option. Do they know that some of us are at Hogwarts?"

"I don't know. We never told them the details. They probably know some of us are there, though,"

What should we do? We can head back to London as a group and stick together for safety. I remember the last time we decided to split up instead of sticking together – that was in Hueco Mundo when we went to rescue Inoue from Aizen. In retrospect, it was a bad decision. We all got caught in battles we were hardly able to win, and it didn't help us find Inoue either. Aizen led us to a hall with multiple doors to split us up, and we decided to play his game.

This time, we could stick together and have a better chance of dealing with the Agency. But what if the Agency refused to release our friends? In that case, we'd have to try and take them back by force, just like what I did years ago when the Gotei-13 decided to execute Rukia. Renji and I were both all too wary of Aizen's presence in the real world. What if he becomes stronger in our absence? He's the main reason we're here. It makes sense to have two or three of our people here to keep an eye out.

But…what if Aizen is responsible for this situation? Then it makes sense for all of us to go to the British Soul Society to fight him. That would actually be completely productive.

Obviously the problem was that _we didn't know_. Renji shares a glance with me and we come to an implicit agreement.

"What?" Rukia asks suspiciously. "What's with that look?"

"We've…made a decision," Renji says, and turns to me.

"Rukia and Hinamori – you both stay here. Renji and I'll go back to London and help Lily and Shirogane. We'll find out as much as we can about the situation. If we need you both to be with us, we'll call you – when that happens, you can come to London by Garganta or something. If not, you both just stay here,"

"Use the reiatsu detector to keep an eye on Aizen's reiatsu, ok?" Renji tells them.

"Ichimaru – what about you? Do you have anything to add?"

He says contemplatively, "I was kept in the dark about all this, even though 'm a Lieutenant in the Agency. It could be because Aizen is behind all this and sees me as a threat or an inconvenience to his plans. Or I could be overreacting - maybe the Agency simply decided not to tell me 'cause they were afraid I'd take your side, given that I've worked with some of your team members before. That's a fairly normal precaution to take,"

"So what'll you do now?"

"I'll go with you to London," he says decisively. "I want to see for myself what's going on. I've worked with Aizen for so long, I know his style by now. I can help you figure out what's behind all this,"

"Great. Renji, let's go,"

"Hold on, Ichigo!" he barks. "How the hell are we supposed to get back?

"We're gonna fly!" I shout back, and he's speechless. Ichimaru looks surprised, but then he understands what I meant. He chuckles and starts walking out towards Hogsmeade, saying, "There'll be plenty of brooms in the village. We'll just go down and grab a few to fly back!"

"And that's how it is. Come on, Renji!"

When I look back, Hinamori, Renji and Rukia are staring at me with comically shocked expressions – their mouths are almost perfect circles.

"We're flying back? On Broomsticks? You're insane!" Renji shouts.

"You're gonna get yourselves killed!" Rukia agrees, grabbing my arm – it's pretty rare for her to get this emotional. My phone rings and I pick it up – it's Lily, so I put it on speakerphone.

"Ichigo! I forgot to tell you something! If you're flying, you'll have to take a few precautions,"

"Tell us all about it," I drawl.

"Can any of you three do disillusionment charms?"

"Nope – at least I don't think so,"

"Then you'll have to fly as high as possible to prevent any Muggles from spotting you. I'd suggest at least 2 kilometres up. This is important, 'cause if any Muggle sees you, the Ministry of Magic will be upon you,"

"But it's gonna be cold up there. And it's a long way to London. We could get hypothermia or something!" Renji argues. "Besides, it's dangerous! Isn't there a better way?"

"I was getting to that! Use a shield charm around yourselves – the incantation is _Protego_ – that'll lessen the force of the wind against your bodies. It also traps a pocket of air inside, so you're insulated. It won't exactly be warm, but it's bearable, and it won't give you hypothermia,"

That's fine, but the 'long way to London' part bothers me. I ask her, "How fast do brooms go anyway? We've got three hours to get to Surrey; is that possible with an average broom?"

"Not for wizards, but it's possible for reapers like us," Lily chuckles. "There's a crossbar at the back of the broom for you to put your feet – you guys can increase the speed of the broom by pumping your spiritual energy out through your legs. Since you're all captain-level, you ought to be able to do this for a long period of time; enough to get back to London in a few hours. Use the map application on your phones to go straight to Surrey. Don't deviate from the path or you'll just get delayed. I'll get Mihane to give you a more specific location when we get closer to Surrey, ok?"

"Sure thing, Lily! Good luck, and see you in a few hours!" I say briskly and end the call before anyone protests. Renji looks in shock at the phone and shakes his head slowly.

"Come on Renji! Stop standing there looking like an idiot! Those two are in trouble; we've got to go help them before they get arrested!"

"I…I can't…" he mumbles.

I laugh hollowly. "Are you scared?"

"What? No! Of course not!"

His eyes shift away. Hinamori and I pounce.

"You are!"

"He's scared of heights!" Hinamori purrs. "Back in our academy days – "

"OK! Ok I'm coming!" Renji shouts and follows us, taking off his blazer and throwing it aside. The girls are in stitches now, and I…well I'm just annoyed I didn't get to hear of about what actually happened during their academy days. Well, this is a relief, though. The tension is gone. It almost feels like nothing is wrong, like this is just gonna be a joyride to London.

"Hey hey – like you said, it'll be cold up there. Keep your jacket!" Hinamori says, taking the abandoned jacket and tossing it at him. Trying to look tough, he refuses it and firmly walks on to Hogsmeade, waving dismissively.

"What an ass," I comment before taking the jacket.

"Rukia, Hinamori – you both call me first thing if any British Shinigami appears in Hogsmeade or Hogwarts, ok?"

The two of them said sharply, "Got it!"

Pausing, I consider my words, then face them.

"You both, don't worry. We'll bring everyone back, I promise!"

"I'm holding you to that!" Hinamori shouts, biting her lip. Smiling at the girl who was to become my lieutenant, I wave and walk off to Hogsmeade.

"Well then, I'm off!"

"_Yoi tabi wo!_" they both say crisply – the traditional Japanese phrase uttered to one leaving on a journey.

When I arrive, Ichimaru is already waiting for us, holding three broomsticks.

"Whoa! Where'd you get those?"

"From some of the shops here. They're all empty so it was pretty simple. And there's no point being so impressed – they're all pretty low-end products,"

"Don't worry – Lily taught me a way to increase our speed,"

"So how're we gonna do this?" Renji asks.

"To fly, just mount the broom and kick off! Cast a shield charm around yourself before you kick off, and also climb up high – like 2 km. To go faster, pump spiritual energy out through your feet. As for directions, I've got them on my phone. We'll be flying in to Surrey, and then Shirogane'll give us a more specific location. I'll take point, you guys follow me,"

"I'll keep direction as well. That way I can correct you if you go off course," Ichimaru says helpfully.

"Actually, I'll do that," Renji smirks. I glare at him and wait for him to finish getting the directions on his phone. With that done, we mount our brooms.

"_Protego!_"

"Ready, guys?"

"Yeah!

"Kick off!"

Nothing happens. All of us climb about a metre, then fall back to the ground.

"Epic fail," Renji drawls. Speak for yourself! Let's try again.

Once again, we kick off, but we fail…again.

"Are you sure this is the right way to fly, Ichigo?" Renji snaps.

"Yes it is! I've checked with some wizards before!"

"Why not try another approach?" Ichimaru suggests. He holds his broom in his hand and starts running forward.

"Hey – where the hell are you going?"

As he runs, he suddenly jumps high up, beyond the roofs, and mounts his broom in mid-air. A flash of white spiritual energy blasts out from his feet and suddenly, he's flying, ascending sharply.

"Wow – looks like he's got everything under control," I mutter. Renji and I try the same approach, and it works! Soon, we're up high. Ichimaru takes point, and soon we're flying on to Surrey.

Hours later

As we flew quietly, completely unnoticed by any of the people down below and, luckily, not encountering any aircraft, Lily contacted us, as promised.

"They're at a place called Little Whinging!" I shouted to the other two, with whom I was keeping in contact via conference call. Ichimaru shouted, "Ok!" in reply and checked the location on his map before adjusting his broom slightly to head towards the place. Sure enough, after a few minutes…

"There they are!" he calls out. I can see them clearly, even from this distance. There is a two-way carriageway with a single lane in each direction, and houses along this road – it has a signpost labelled 'Privet Drive'. The familiar black car which Sirius and I rescued months back has been stopped in the middle of the road, perpendicular to each lane. Shirogane is on one side of the car, facing two British Agents with her sword out. Lily's on the other side, facing away from us. She's holding a long weapon in her hands – is that a _scythe_? – and facing three Agents. All the guys from the Agency are in suits and holding various weapons, including a dagger, two swords, and even a hammer. The last is a woman, going by her skirt, and she's unarmed, but is in a defensive position. Maybe she's a hand-to-hand fighter? No time to check details, we need to help them. We dip the front of our brooms, going into a steep descent. Renji speeds up to overtake Ichimaru.

"I'm going over to help Mihane. You guys, assist Lily!" He descends roughly, struggling to control his broom, aiming to land near his squad mate.

"Got it!" I speed up towards Lily. Just as I fly above her, barely missing her head by less than a metre, I sharply turn my broom 90 degrees to the left, turning parallel to the three agents. Luckily, they're all bunched up close enough, so I slam into all three of them, sending them flying back. Quickly turning behind, I see that Renji had decided to fight the Agents on his feet. I grit my teeth. That's too slow!

"Give me your hand!" I shout, flying back towards Lily. She wastes no time sticking out her hand, which I catch. She grunts in pain as I suddenly fly up to avoid hitting the car, but with her toughened soul reaper body, she holds up fine. Spinning sharply, I let go of Lily's hand at the right moment – sending her (and her scythe) spinning into the two agents facing Renji and Shirogane. There's a spray of blood and they fall, out for the count – maybe forever. Ugh, that's morbid.

"You guys alright?" Renji asks. He's annoyed that Lily and I 'stole their kill', so to speak, but thankfully he doesn't bring it up.

"Yeah, we're fine. You came just in time!" Lily says, gasping for breath. She starts to say something else, but her eyes widen, looking at something behind me.

"What's wrong?" Instead of answering me, she suddenly runs to the front of the car and ducks below the bonnet in a squatting position – like she's hiding fro something behind the car. I glance at the houses behind – there are some faces staring out from inside House number Four. Was that what Lily was running from?

"Mind your own Goddamn business!" I shout at them, and two of the faces disappear. There's still a man staring at us. He has a red face and multiple chins, which are shaking as if he's saying something. I ignore him and turn back to Lily.

"Hey! What's wrong, Lily?"

"Uhh…I'll explain later!" she says. "More importantly, we've got to get somewhere safe before we can start planning what to do next!"

"Uhh…ok then. Everyone in the car!" I shout and take the driver's seat. Shirogane is squashed in between Ichimaru and Renji behind. Lily takes the front passenger seat, and does it hurriedly, covering her head as she runs over. She gives me instructions and I quickly follow them.

"So what happened earlier? And why'd you decide to go to Surrey, of all places?"

"Well…I, umm, have a sister who lives there," Lily said, looking deflated.

"Oh…I see." But what was the point? Lily couldn't go to her sister's place since spirits weren't allowed to interact with the living except in dire circumstances. And besides, how was her sister to react to seeing her? And if Lily stayed with her sister, she and her family would be put in danger, and I doubt Lily would have missed that, or ever knowingly allow her loved ones to get in danger. Sensing my thoughts, she says, "Surrey popped into my mind amidst the chaos. I wasn't thinking straight. Sorry,"

"It's ok. We're all shocked here. We had to practically force ourselves off the ground back in Hogsmeade!" I chuckle. "We were pretty much acting on adrenaline just then,"

"I think they saw me – as in, my sister and her family," she says flatly. "And I think they were the ones you were shouting at,"

"The fat man with the red face?"

She laughs. "Yeah – that one. Gave them quite a scare, huh? I wish I could've seen their faces!" she has a mischievous glint in her eyes as she says this. I look at her critically – does she love them or hate them? Maybe I shouldn't ask. Focusing on the driving, I get to the place which Lily's told me to go. It's an empty garage. Lily orders us out of the car.

"We'll leave the car here, so it doesn't give us away. They probably fitted it with a tracker when we sent it to the Agency for repairs, so we'll have to abandon it. Now – all of you form a human chain, and grip each other's hand tightly, ok?"

We do so hesitantly, most of us not knowing what she was up to. She grabs my arm roughly and squeezes it tightly, almost cutting off blood flow to my hands. Lily, is this revenge for when I grabbed your hand earlier? Before I can protest, the suburban scenery before us sharply cuts off to black and I feel a weird sensation like being sucked through a tight tube. When it's over a second later, we're at a completely different location. Lily is standing next to me, and everyone else is lying on the ground, gasping for breath. I scramble to my feet quickly, having experienced the same sensation just a few hours earlier.

"Where are we?" I ask, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. We're in what looks like a village square that's mostly devoid of human traffic. There's a small church and a few shops that are closed. It's snowing lightly.

"We're in the village of Godric's Hollow; there's a safe place we can stay here. Come this way! Quickly!"

At Lily's urging, we follow her along a narrow street and soon, we reach a large house that causes us to stop and stare – because part of it is destroyed, like a bomb fell on it. Lily opens the gate and flashes us a winning smile.

"Lady and Gentlemen, welcome to my humble abode!"

This is her _house_?

"Well, it's certainly humble, alright," Renji cracks. For that, he earns a stamp on the foot from an indignant Lily.

"You have a house in the Real World? That's…unexpected," Shirogane says.

"Yup. James and I lived here…and we died here. Voldemort's spells caused all that destruction,"

"Why didn't anyone try to fix it? Or demolish it and build a new house there?" I ask.

"Right now, muggles can't see this place, 'cause spells have been placed on it. This village consists mostly of wizards – they kept the house in its original state as a kind of memorial, since Voldemort met his downfall here,"

"So it's been unoccupied for years now!" Renji says.

"Not exactly," Lily corrects him. "James and I came here years after we started working for the Agency. We both took the time out to cast a few spells of our own on this place. It looks destroyed on the outside, but it's perfectly fine on the inside – honest!"

Laughing nervously, we walked inside the house, and Lily's right – it looks perfectly fine on the inside. From the outside, the top floor had almost the entire roof missing, but from the inside, it's completely intact. Lily ushers us into the kitchen, which is stocked with non-perishable items like tinned food, many bottles of mineral water, and a few bottles of wine. She pours each of us a glass of wine and we take a seat to discuss the events of the past few hours.

At first, we all sit in silence. Just as I had said earlier, we were all acting on excess adrenaline, forgetting about our worries for the moment. But pausing now to think about what's happened, our spirits sink, depressed.

"Lily, why don't you start?" Ichimaru prompts. "You and Shirogane-kun know more than the rest of us,"

"Yes, that's right," Lily sighs. She sips some wine, then begins her tale. "As most of you are aware, the Agency turned against all of us. I don't know why, but they suddenly came to arrest us. Everyone else was in the house, while Mihane and I went out for a while. The Agents used gas to knock everyone out before bringing them to their HQ. James had also gone out with Shuhei, but they happened to walk in on everyone else being taken away. They warned us, and right after that, they tried fighting, but they soon lost. I didn't sense anyone using full release, so I bet it was a short battle,"

"Full release meaning Bankai," Ichimaru mentioned for our benefit.

"Is there any possibility that Aizen could've been involved?" Renji asks sharply. "Right now, we need to know if Aizen is behind this – if he is, then we should all stick together in our rescue mission – that is, if that's what we're gonna do,"

"And if he isn't, we'll have to leave one or two of our own behind here to keep him in check and take action if he tries to do anything," Mihane adds.

There's a collective sigh at the table. It's a difficult choice, and we don't have enough information to make a good decision. After a few minutes of silence, Renji makes a suggestion.

"Why don't we just…focus on what we're gonna do about our friends who've been taken away by the Agency? Where could they be?" he directs this question at Lily and Ichimaru.

"Most likely in a prison in the City," Ichimaru says. "By the way, the City is what we call Agency HQ,"

With a hard expression, Lily adds, "They might even be scheduled for execution,"

"Oh, don't say things like that!" Shirogane says uncomfortably.

"It's true. If Aizen is behind this, it makes sense he'd want to kill the members of this team,"

I point out, "But what about Ichimaru and me? Ichimaru came closer than anyone to killing Aizen, and just after that, I actually killed Aizen. Wouldn't it make more sense to come after us rather than the rest? In fact, we would've been easier targets than the guys at King's Road, right?

"Not really – there were three captain-class fighters at Hogwarts, and another three at King's Road, with a few lieutenant-class fighters. There's not much difference in the concentration of strong fighters at each location. Still, what Ichigo said makes sense,"

"Then they didn't know that five members of the Team were at Hogwarts. They probably thought that everyone would be at King's Road and attacked there,"

I nod. "That sounds likely. It's been hours since the British reapers first attacked, but Rukia and Hinamori haven't informed me of any Agents appearing in Hogsmeade or Hogwarts,"

"So they really didn't know, or didn't care, that some of us were at Hogwarts,"

"Either way, that's irrelevant, isn't it?" Renji says loudly. "What matters now is going to the British Soul Society and rescuing them, right?"

"You're right, Renji," I say calmly. "But we don't know who we're up against. I do want to barge into the Agency's HQ right now, but…it's suicide,"

"What the hell do you mean?" Renji snaps at me. "The last time you decided to go and rescue Rukia, you had no idea what was waiting for you either! But you took the chance and went anyway!"

"This is different, dammit! Last time I could do things on my own. I wanted to go to Soul Society on my own and risk my own life if that meant I could save Rukia! My friends cared enough to come with me of their own accord. But this time, things are different. I can't do everything on my own against the Agency, and that means I've got to have people with me – people I can work with to rescue the others. And if I'm gonna be working with other people, I have to look out for their safety, don't I?"

He falls silent. I've made my point, so I don't bother saying any more.

"You actually broke into a Soul Society?" Lily asks incredulously.

"Yup. Maybe I'll tell you about it next time,"

Lily then turns to Renji and shakes her head.

"Renji, we can't simply walk into our Soul Society,"

"What'd you mean? Is your City protected against intruders or something?"

"No…well, it is protected, but that's not what I meant. I found out about an hour ago that I'm not able to open the World Gate to the City anymore,"

"What? How come?"

"All of us are given an Identity Card when we are given missions to the Real World. The IC is what gives us the power to open World Gates to the British Soul Society. My IC's been deactivated, so I can't open the Gate,"

Ichimaru takes out his wallet and checks his own IC, before shaking his head at us and chuckling hollowly. He adds, "In addition, since they tried and failed to arrest Lily, I'm sure they chucked the others in a secret place. We both know the layout of the City, but we'll never know exactly where everyone is."

"So we never actually had a chance to carry out any kind of rescue mission, huh?"

"I guess…"

Unable to accept this, Renji urged, "Come on, think! There has to be something we can do! Maybe we could get the Arrancar to open a Garganta!"

"That's a good idea! I remember Ulquiorra was able to open a Garganta inside the Dangai Precipice world, of all places. If you can go via Garganta to such an obscure place, I'm sure the British Soul Society shouldn't be a problem,"

Before I'm done, Ichimaru is already calling up Nel.

"Still no reply!" he says, ending the call after a minute. At this point, Lily suddenly slaps her forehead.

"Damn! I forgot – they're on vacation!"

"_What_?"

"The Arrancar – they've all gone to Australia for the winter!"

The hell? All of them – on holiday in the Australian summer? I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Renji growls, "Isn't there anyone else we can call?"

"Ghostbusters!" Ichimaru and Shirogane say, with a half-hearted fist pump, eliciting groans and cackles from the rest of us.

More seriously, I ask, "Why not just notify the Gotei-13? They should be able to contact the British Soul Society and find out what's going on, right? And they can try to persuade them from doing anything to our team members, right?"

Renji shakes his head.

"Nah. That's not gonna get anything done. Central 46 takes care of such matters, and knowing them, this is gonna take a long time thanks to red tape. Who knows if our guys have that much time? The Gotei-13 can't do anything on their own unless they're prepared to break a few major rules!" he scoffs.

This disappoints us. But a thought comes to mind. _The Gotei-13 can't do anything on their own unless they're prepared to break a few major rules_…A 'few major rules' – so we need someone prepared to break the rules, and – My God, I _do_ know the perfect person we can call in a time like this!

Grinning, I grab my phone and dial a number. I'm half jubilant, and half furious at myself for not having figured this out faster.

"Who're you calling, Ichigo?"

"We need a guy who can help us break into a Soul Society…and I happen to know a leading expert on that subject!" I say, still grinning.

"A leading expert?" Renji asks incredulously, before his face lights up in understanding. "You don't mean…"

I simply smile at him. At last, someone picks up the phone.

"Hello? Urahara Shop…"

"Ururu? Is that you, Ururu? This is Ichigo! Listen – I need to talk to Urahara right now!"

"But – "

"Doesn't matter if he's sleeping! Just wake him up, 'cause this is really important!"

"Oh…ok," the girl says. She goes off to wake up Urahara, who comes grumbling to the phone.

"Who's that calling at this ungodly hour?"

"Urahara! It's me, Ichigo!"

"Oh, Kurosaki-san! It's good to hear from you again! How's your work coming along?"

"Urahara, listen! We've got a tough situation on our hands. We're gonna need your advice on this one,"

"Oh, you're actually asking _me_ for advice? I'm flattered, Kurosaki-san! So what does this concern?"

" Don't let your head swell too much!" I chuckle, before switching on speakerphone mode for everyone's benefit. "I'll make this brief: A few hours ago, the Agency arrested most of the members on our team. Right now, there're only seven of us left. Five of us are somewhere in…"

"Southwestern England," Lily supplies helpfully.

I nod thankfully and continue talking to Urahara. " – Southwestern England, while the other two are in Scotland,"

If he's surprised, Urahara doesn't show it. Instead, he proceeds in a businesslike manner, asking questions every now and then.

"Tell me how the arrests took place,"

"The Agents used gas to knock everyone out when they were in the house we were staying at. They then dragged everyone out and brought them to the British Soul Society," Lily explains. "Shuhei and James managed to warn Mihane and me, so we both escaped. We were chased by a few agents, but luckily, the boys came in time to help us fight them off."

"So they're keeping them hostage inside the City, possibly awaiting execution?"

"Yes, that's what we think. Wait – how'd you know about the city?"

"I'll explain that later. For now, just answer my questions. Are you guys able to get into the British Soul Society?"

"No. There're two Agency members here but both of them were denied access,"

"Do you know why they arrested your friends?"

"No. It could be Aizen manipulating them, or somehow pulling the strings, but we can't be sure,"

"I assume you want to head over to the City to save your friends?"

"Well, yeah! But we have no idea how to pull this off," I say dejectedly.

He harrumphs. "Last question: Have you notified the Gotei-13 yet?"

"No, we were going to – "

"Don't! Don't tell them yet!" Urahara says, his voice taking on a conspiratorial tone. "Tell you what: I'm gonna take part in this. If I use a Garganta, I can make my way over to your location in minutes. We'll speak in depth over there, ok?"

"What – you're coming _here_? _Now_?" The lazy shopkeeper is actually getting personally involved?

"Yes, I am!" he says gleefully. "Now tell me your exact address and I'll be there in minutes!"

I shake my head at my ex-mentor – even after all this time, he's full of surprises. I give a nod to Lily, and she gives Urahara the address.

"

We're at the village of Godric's Hollow, in the West Country of England,"

"Godric's Hollow, huh? I'll be right there!"

I get up. "Urahara – there's a village square with a church and a few shops. I'll wait for you there,"

"Very well. See you in a few minutes, everyone!"

I button up my jacket – I'm still in the same clothes I wore to the ball! – and head out of the kitchen.

"Hey, it's cold – take this!" Lily calls, conjuring a black scarf out of thin air and tossing it over to me.

"Thanks!" I wrap it around my neck and walk to the village square. It takes me a few minutes to get there, walking at a slow pace, and just as I reach it, I can see the Garganta. It's already open, the shape of an eye and the height of an average man. I wait a few metres away, expecting the shopkeeper to step out of the Garganta. But to my surprise, that doesn't happen – instead, the Garganta just closes.

"What the hell? Urahara! You here?" I call out. Maybe he was already out of the Garganta by the time I arrived to see it close. No answer.

"Damn!" I grab my phone to call him. But suddenly, a hand grabs my shoulder. I cry out in shock and turn around to see the crazed face of a blond, thick-set man in a black suit. His arm is drawn back, ready to punch me, and the other hand is gripping my neck, crushing it. I can hardly react; everything's going so fast!

But then, a thin beam of red light pierces the man's forehead and he falls back, blood trickling out of his forehead. I step back reflexively, rubbing my neck, breathing hard.

"At times like this, you should take care to watch your back, Kurosaki-san," a familiar voice says. Urahara flash-steps right in front of me, from the top of the church (where he had perched himself). He's dressed in the same clothes he always wears – including the striped hat and wooden sandals.

"You could've killed me!"

"Not a chance! I _never_ miss, Kurosaki-san – or rather, my Benihime never misses,"

Shaking my head at him, I gesture down the street.

"Come along. Everyone's waiting for you,"

We walked along silently, and soon reached the house. Ignoring his dubious stares, I walked inside after knocking on the door thrice, and beckoned him inside. He blinked suddenly when he looked inside.

"My my. Now how is this possible?"

"Magic. Literally, magic," I explain. "Now come inside. We can talk more about magic inside, but first we've gotta solve this problem,"

"Of course, of course," he says, still looking incredulous at the word 'magic'. We walk into the dining room, where everyone is still seated.

"Good evening, everyone! Urahara Kisuke, at your service!" he says, taking off his hat with a flourish and bowing.

Renji and Ichimaru laugh at his overly-cheerful greeting while the two ladies smile politely and introduce themselves.

"Let's get to business then, shall we?" Urahara says. He takes a seat and suddenly, his manner turns serious. "You've got seven people kept prisoner in the City, right? You can't get to the City, and you don't know if Aizen is behind this or not."

"Yeah – that's about it,"

"First of all, I'd say it was a good idea to leave behind two of your members here to keep an eye on things in case Aizen is not involved in this case. That way, if he starts gaining momentum, we have people here to take care of him. I assume they haven't gone for Hinamori-san and Kuchiki-san?"

"No. They would've informed me if they had," I say. "Y'know, why not let them in on this discussion? I think they ought to know our plan as well,"

"Good idea. Go ahead, Kurosaki-san,"

I call Rukia and tell her to put her phone on speakerphone, and do the same with my own phone.

"Rukia, Hinamori – Urahara just joined us. We're basically meeting to decide our next move,"

"Ichigo! Is everyone ok? Where are you guys anyway?"

"We're fine! We're at a village called Godric's Hollow; James and Lily used to live here, and we're using their house,"

"Any word from the Agency? Have they demanded anything in return for the release of our friends, or anything like that?"

"No word whatsoever. We've pretty much been cut off from them. Lily and Ichimaru can't open the World Gate to the British Soul Society either. Any more questions before we start?"

She pauses before replying negatively. Urahara nods and starts.

"Kurosaki-san, I think we should continue to have the two ladies stationed in Scotland, so they can keep an eye on the situation. As for us, we shall all enter the British Soul Society to rescue Captain Hitsugaya and the others,"

I nod. "Yeah, I think we all were thinking the same thing. But how? Lily and Ichimaru can't open the World Gate anymore,"

"There is someone among us who can," he replies enigmatically.

"But I just said nobody here can…wait – you don't mean _yourself_, do you?"

"Bingo!" he grins, suddenly snapping his fan open and hiding his face behind it. "Perhaps I'll share with you my story before we take any further action,"

"Is this gonna involve any long boring explanations and terrible illustrations?" I deadpan, and Renji high-fives me, having thought of the same thing. He pretends to look offended.

"Oh, no illustrations this time, Kurosaki-san. This is merely a narration of my early days before I settled down as a humble shopkeeper in Japan,"

"Oh, right. Now that I think about it, you were exiled a hundred years ago, weren't you? I suppose you're gonna tell us what happened in between then and now?"

"That's right, I am," he says, and launches into his narrative. "A hundred years ago, I was framed for some crimes and was forced to go into self-exile. Those events are not relevant, so I won't talk about them. Suffice it to say that I was probably the first Shinigami to understand just how treacherous Aizen Sosuke can be," his voice took a hard edge here. "I wasn't alone, though. With me were my friend and onetime partner Shihoin Yoruichi, and a fellow Captain, Tsukabishi Tessai. We also had with us four other captains and four lieutenants. All of these men and women had been scheduled to be executed because they had been badly affected by an experiment performed by Aizen,"

"He performed experiments on living humans?" Lily exclaims, outraged. "An what's more, he changed them to the point where they were to be executed?"

"Yes," Urahara says grimly. I noticed he had dropped the honorifics to avoid confusing Lily. "He had tried to convert them into hybrids of Soul Reapers and Hollows. I escaped to the real world with these eight unfortunate souls and Yoruichi and Tessai. We lay low in Japan for a while, helping the Vizards, as these newly-forged hybrids called themselves, adjust to the horrific changes which Aizen had forced on them. That took several years. When they were finally ready to go out into the world and strike out on their own, they left us and travelled the world, seeking out others who were like them. And after that, I was free,"

He clears his throat and drinks some water before continuing. "That took about nine years after our exile, which took place in 1910. Now, I am a man of action,"

Some of us snorted at this. He smiles and hides his face behind his fan again.

"Oh, but it's true. I hated inactivity, and after the Vizards left, inactivity was all I had. It was too easy to lie low and avoid detection by the Gotei-13 whenever they half-heartedly decided to send a patrol to the Real World to find me or any of the other officers who were supposed to have died a decade back. But where's the fun in that? I'm sure you're all familiar with the phrase '_you never know what you have until it's gone_', right? That was how I felt that time. I realised that I truly enjoyed my time in the Gotei-13. I loved working as a member of Special Ops, and I loved leading the R&D bureau and doing research for it. I had to occupy my marvellous mind with something before it degenerated,"

Ignoring our derisive chuckles, he goes on. "I decided to go work for Soul Society – but not the Japanese one,"

"Hang on a minute – "not the Japanese one"…do you mean you worked for…" I leave the sentence hanging and he nods. I wave my hand slightly, gesturing him to continue with his narration.

"The different Soul Societies don't usually keep contact with one another, but sometimes they do, if they are affiliated. So I knew that the only way to stay hidden from the Gotei-13 was to go work for a Soul Society that wasn't affiliated with Japan. In the end, I settled on Britain. At that time, the First World War had just ended and the Soul Societies of the various participant countries were working hard to ensure that all the souls of dead soldiers and civilians were going where they were supposed to. They coordinated with the soul societies of France, Germany, and several others, and even then, they were desperately in need of dedicated professionals. So when I presented myself to the Agency, they hired me without a thorough background check. My résumé and my performance at the interview were good enough to land me the job quickly,"

"So you actually worked for the Agency before!" Lily said incredulously.

"That's right. I even made it to the post of Lieutenant. The Captain's post was offered to me at least twice, but I denied it, because I didn't want the background checks that would always be done on any person who was to become a Captain,"

"Then…when did you stop being a member of the Agency?" I ask, still surprised by this revelation.

"When I got tired of it. After decades of serving in the Agency, I decided to stop. I handed in my resignation, saying I was going to go back to Japan. They accepted it, thinking I was just going to go straight back to the Gotei-13. They didn't think I was just going to live in the real world in Japan. They bid me farewell and dropped me off in Britain, in the real world. There, I'd arranged to meet Yoruichi," he addresses me next. "It was also at this time that I met your father, Kurosaki-san. I found out that he had come to the Real World for a holiday, and that he had found Yoruichi and heard from her about the Vizards. Apparently, after that, he went – "

" – backpacking with her, yes, we know all about that. He told me about it when he came over here months ago,"

"Is that so? How'd your training go, by the way?"

"Oh, it's fine. I haven't had a chance to actually use it in an actual battle scenario, but with things as they are, I think I'll get an opportunity soon!"

"Very good." He says politely. "Getting back to the subject, Yoruichi and Isshin came to pick me up, and after holidaying in Britain for a while, we packed up and went back to Japan. After moving from city to city, we decided to settle down in this promising newly-urbanised city called Karakura Town. It was there that Isshin set up his medical practice and I started my store,"

He downs the rest of the water in his bottle and says with an air of finality, "And there you have it: the story of my life for the past century,"

Renji raised his wine glass. "I've got to hand it to you: You may have looked like a lazy slob most of the time, but you've had a heck of a lot more interesting career than most in the Gotei-13 could ever dream of having,"

"Why thank you," he smirks.

"Abarai-san's right, it is certainly interesting. But the upshot of all this is that you're able to bring us to the British Soul Society, is it not?" Shirogane asks shrewdly. "And also, you know the place well, so you can help us locate our missing friends,"

"Exactly," he says, closing his fan. "Before I left the Agency, I made sure to mine as many secrets as I could. Opening a World Gate to the British Soul Society from here is not a difficult task. And once we're inside, I'll help you find the others and get to the bottom of this mystery,"

"Great!" I say, shaking his hand. "Welcome to the team!"

"Thank you. Now, before we go, I'd like to ask that you follow my instructions carefully. The Agency is very different from the Gotei-13, as Ichimaru-san can probably testify to, and our approach to this problem will be different from our approach we used back when we wanted to rescue Rukia,"

Ichimaru nods in agreement. "He's right. The Gotei-13 is big and inefficient. The various divisions are often in disagreement and tend to get in each others' way, as Kurosaki-san might have noted back when he broke into Seireitei to rescue his beloved Rukia-chan," Smirking at me, he continued, "The Agency, on the other hand, is small and organised, and there are many professional fighters in it. Now, let me tell you about the command structure of the Agency: At the top is the President. The current leader of the Agency is President Stamford Osborne, and under him are various squads with different duties. First there's the Home Defence Unit, commonly known as the Home Team. This is a small group of highly-trained fighters who are charged with protecting the City. Most of them are at the power of a seated officer at best, but with the kind of training they receive, they can make the most of this limited power. It should be possible for them to kill a captain-level fighter too, if they work in a pair,"

"I assume they'll be the first line of defence we'll be facing?" Shirogane asks.

"Yes. Defence is their duty, so they will be the first to mobilise if invaders are detected. The rest of the army is on standby, so if the situation gets worse, they'll take action,"

"There are a few other divisions as well," Lily says. "There's the Medical Division. Their people have only basic training, but – "

"Relax, we won't go after medics," I say.

"Yeah. Says the guy who kidnapped a defenceless Division 4 medic when he last invaded Soul Society!" Renji hoots, referring to Hanataro.

"Hey! We never harmed him! And we even saved his ass a few times when he got in danger!"

Ichimaru smirks and continues. "Besides the Medical Division, there's a division of Army Engineers who basically take care of the machines and also make sure communications and the World Gates are working. Research and Development duties fall to them as well. These guys do most of their work in offices and laboratories. There are some military people in there, but many of them are non-combat personnel,"

"Finally, there's the Foreign Division. They work in the Real World, and sometimes go to other countries to help out. They tend to be strong, but generally unsuited to fighting other Shinigami or human beings. This is because their training is specially tailored for Hollow-hunting,"

I muse, "You're right; this is very different from the Gotei-13. But what about communication between squads, and training? And Special Ops? There are squads in the Gotei that are dedicated to these – is there any equivalent in the Agency?"

"In the Agency, communication is taken care of using mobile phones. We don't have messengers or hell butterflies," Ichimaru says. "Oh, and I almost forgot – we don't have Special Ops, but we do have a division of Military Police, or MPs. They work closely with the Home Team, but their duties are more along the line of keeping law and order in the City. Now, I might have mentioned this to Ichigo-kun earlier, but the civilians and Agency personnel live and work together in the same City. So the MPs have authority over the civilians too, just like a regular police force. As for training, we have a Military Institute to train all our members. The basic training takes two years, after which they are given more specific roles based on their skills,"

"Ok, so far so good," Renji says. "But what about the officers? Is it like the Gotei-13's system of having each Division run by a Captain, with the lieutenant and seated officers under him?"

"Not really," Ichimaru replies. "The Home Team, Military Police and the Foreign Division are each run by a General. The Medics are managed by the Chief Administrator of the Hospital, and the chief of the engineers is simply called the Head of the Department of Science and Technology. Unlike the Gotei-13, the heads of each division are not necessarily the strongest or most skilled fighters in that division. The Head of science is simply the person deemed best at managing a division of scientists and engineers, and the Hospital Administrator is the best at leading a division of medical staff. In the Gotei, strong men and women are picked to be leaders. The Agency does things differently: they look out for those who would make excellent leaders and give them special training to hone their leadership abilities. These people only receive training to increase their power later,"

"I see. So we shouldn't judge based on rank here,"

"Exactly,"

"But what about requirements like Shikai or Bankai? I'm guessing Agents also can sue Zanpakutos?"

"Yes we can," Lily nods. "You must be able to use your Zanpakuto's Full Release – I'm guessing that's what you guys call 'Bankai' – in order to become the leaders of the MPs, Home Team, or the Foreign Division. The Generals and their second and third officers must have this ability. The requirement doesn't exist for the Medical and Science departments, though. In fact, many of the people in these departments don't even have a Zanpakuto. If a qualified doctor were to die in the real world and his soul were to come to the British Soul Society, we might give him a job offer at our Medical Division, without ay military training for him,"

With that, the explanations came to an end, and we started planning what we were going to do inside the City.

"Now then, I'm going to outline what exactly we're going to do once we walk through the World Gate, so listen up, everyone," Urahara says, clapping his hands. "There's a special building in the City which is basically the entrance to the British Soul Society. You can open a World Gate to the British Soul Society from anywhere in the world, and the Gate will, without fail, open up inside this building – let's call it the Entrance Building for simplicity's sake. This building's existence means we can't enter quietly. So, be prepared to fight the moment you get to the other side,"

"Are there any defences protecting the Agency HQ?" I ask. I had to know about this, since last time in Japan, we were blocked by the massive wall surrounding Seireitei. Urahara smirks knowingly at me.

"You don't have to worry about that, Kurosaki-san. The Civilians live on the outer parts of the city, but are permitted to move about in the inner parts as well. Some buildings are off-limits to them, though. The inner part consists mainly of Agency buildings – or at least, that's how it was last time I was there. Has it changed?"

"No, it hasn't," Lily answers. "Many of the Agency Buildings are just a few minutes away from the Entrance Building – including one prison block. Perhaps we should look there first,"

"Very well," Urahara nods. He then turns to Renji and me, giving us a meaningful look. Renji raises an eyebrow, then says 'Oh', and clears his throat before speaking.

"Alright, everyone. It's time to set down our objectives here. Firstly, we have to find Captain Hitsugaya and all our other comrades,"

I continue, "Secondly, we have to find out what exactly brought this on. To be safe, we should consider the Agency to be our enemy for now. Aizen is a possible suspect. He might have hypnotised some people in the British Soul Society to bring this turn of events about. But all the same, we can't rule out the possibility that he's not involved. So we'll leave Rukia and Hinamori here in Hogwarts to keep an eye on things,"

Rukia and Hinamori say, "Got it!" over the phone.

"If that's all, we should get going now," Urahara says seriously. "We don't know how much time we have left before anything happens to the Captain and the others!"

"Can you open a World Gate here?"

"Yes I can! We just need a place to keep our faux bodies, so we can come collect them afterwards,"

Lily smiles sinisterly. "There's a secret cellar. I'll hide the bodies there!"

Chuckling morbidly, we all get out of our faux bodies. We all look at Urahara in surprise when he sheds his body. I'd expected him to be wearing his old uniform as Division 12 captain** like he was the last time I saw him in his soul form, but he's actually dressed in a black suit with a light olive green shirt and a black tie. There's a pin on his lapel with an unfamiliar logo on it.

"In case you're wondering, this is the uniform I used back when I was a lieutenant in the Foreign Division during my Agency days. I'd advise you to put on smart clothing over your soul forms instead of using your Shihakushos – they'll stand out less from the general populace there,"

We take our bodies to another room and exchange clothes with them. Renji and I ditch the vests and the ties. One restricts movement a little and the other can easily be turned against us by an enemy at close quarters and used to choke us to death. This is a natural ability of a Shinigami's body – the Shihakusho is an automatic feature generated by a Shinigami's reiatsu. This is why I found myself wearing a Shihakusho when Rukia first transferred her powers to me. But when we take off the Shihakusho and put on other clothes, we can manually coat it with reiatsu to convert its atoms into spirit particles. If we were to take these clothes off and leave them aside, they'll soon turn back to normal. That's how I was able to use my own clothes over my Shinigami body for the last two years. Apparently Renji knows this too. Only Shirogane doesn't have any smart clothing, so Lily takes her into a room and uses magic to conjure up some clothes for her. Of course, conjured clothes don't last long, but when a Shinigami does it, the additional power used causes the clothes to exist for much longer periods of time.

When we're properly dressed, we gather in the 'secret cellar'. It's just like in those old movies: a cellar with an entrance concealed behind the fireplace. There are a few shelves there, but they're empty. It looks like this room was built in just in case something needed to be stored. And apparently, this was the first time anything needed to be stored in here. Clearly, magic has been used here. The room is exceptionally large; there's no way a room this big could possibly fit into the house as seen from outside. Lily has already moved our bodies to this room. She's lined them all up on the floor, and in a moment of mischief, she crossed everyone's arms over their chests like Egyptian mummies. Laughing at her handiwork, she joined us in a tight little group behind Urahara, who was holding out his sword and focussing Spiritual Energy into it. Red threads of energy coiled around Benihime, and Urahara started sweating from the effort. None of us dared to talk, to distract him from his job. After what seemed like an eternity, his eyes flew open, and he said clearly, authoritatively, "_Open_,"

The outline of a massive set of doors appeared before us, and in seconds, it solidified into two oak doors, about three metres tall. The doors opened and Urahara turned to face us.

"It's done,"

Renji and I nod, and we both go to the front. Urahara takes the back, and Ichimaru and the two ladies are in between.

"Alright, guys. This is it. Remember, once we get in, we'll have to fight. So be prepared. Lily, you're the most proficient at using a wand – so you use magic to support us, ok?"

"Sure! Just don't get in my way!" she smirks.

"Remember our two objectives! Don't pick any unnecessary fights. If we absolutely must fight, let's do it after freeing our friends!" Renji says.

It's time to go.

"Let's go! Don't stop until we've rescued every single one of our teammates!"

"_Yeah!_"

And we all jump into the dark space inside the World Gate, running towards the British Soul Society. May luck be on our side!

_To be continued_

*When I say that Rukia is 'physically 17', I mean that if she was a human, she would most likely be this age – though she looks much younger than that. As you all probably already know, most Shinigami are much older than they appear.

**In the third Bleach movie, _Fade to Black_, Urahara was wearing a Shihakusho with the 12th Division Captain's haori (cloak). I'm guessing that he only wears his familiar Sandal-Hat attire over his faux body in the Real World, but in his soul form, keeps his Captain's uniform on all the time.


	17. With Daring Initiative

The Next Great Adventure

Hello again! I apologise for the long gap between this chapter and the last. And I'm sorry to say that my updates from now on are going to be pretty spaced out. Reason being, I'm in the army now – it's compulsory for Singaporean men to join the army for two years after they turn 18 – and I only get to come home on the weekends for my leave, without being able to use a computer during the weekdays. Right now, I'm about to start my 13th week in the army. Truth be told, I could have updated earlier during one of the weekends, but the feeling of writing again after a long period of not writing is very disorienting. I had a very bad case of writer's block combined with busy weekends, and that's what kept this chapter from being published until now.

Anyway, speaking of army, you can ask many Singaporean men and they'll complain about their army life; about how terrible the food was, how awful their living conditions were, and how mean their commanders were. But personally, I've enjoyed the past 12 weeks and I feel like I've learned a lot – much more than the military skills (which I'll probably never use, 'cause I'm with Combat Support rather than in a combat unit) we were taught. What I value more are the life lessons I learned, and the diverse mix of people I met, and would never have met if I hadn't gone to army. So next time if you hear a Singaporean mouthing off about how awful the army is and all that, know that not all of us are like that :) Some of us have really enjoyed our experience and feel proud of it!

Chapter 17: With Daring Initiative

"_Getsuga Tensho!_" A bright blue beam of amplified spirit energy sails out from my sword and strikes a team of British Military Police. Behind me, Lily performs a similar attack using her own Zanpakuto, which she refers to as a 'Death Scythe'. Apparently everyone here calls their weapon a Death Scythe, although Lily's one of the few whose Death Scythe is an actual scythe, in its Shikai form. It's basically a shiny black solid-iron staff about her height. There are two blades at the top of the staff, pointing in opposite directions, so it's rather like Hisagi's Kazeshini. The difference is that, for Lily's scythe, one blade is very long while the other is extremely short and stubby – the long one is probably 8 or 9 times longer. The two blades point downwards, are fully black, and are both double-edged. It's name? _Veneficus Venator_ – Lily tells me it's Latin for _Warlock Hunter_.

Right now, the wielder of this weapon is standing back-to-back behind me, facing down a team of MPs. She grits her teeth at them and tries talking to them again.

"Don't you boys get it? There's something severely wrong with our leadership now! Don't you think it's strange that they suddenly ordered the arrest of the people who were working with us for so long?"

The man in charge of the team of MPs – he's a Sergeant, going from a pin with three chevrons attached to his lapels – grinds his teeth in frustration and shouts back, "There is nothing wrong with our leadership! You can't expect us to believe what you say after you barge in with these foreigners and start brawling with us!"

"He has a fair point, actually," I chuckle, turning around to face everyone, once I've confirmed that there's nobody left standing in front of me. Then I stop laughing and address them seriously.

"I know what this looks like. But we don't want to cause trouble,"

He snorts derisively. "I'm sure you don't!"

"No, honestly! I'm sure you know about our mission here in England. We had just had a major breakthrough, but then you guys came and arrested our colleagues! What gives?"

"Don't know, doesn't matter," Sarge says tightly. "All I know now is that you broke into our HQ and are rousing trouble. I have to stop you,"

With that, he steps forward slightly, raising the large sabre he's carrying. Shaking my head, I step forward to meet him. He lets out a loud war cry and charges forward. I block him easily with my sealed sword. He quickly draws his weapon back and strikes again from a different angle. Once again, it's easily blocked, and we keep going.

"You're pretty good, y'know," I mention. He doesn't say anything, but keeps attacking (futilely).

"There's a fat pig working in the Gotei-13 – that's who I work for now – he's an officer, but he keeps cowering behind his subordinates instead of fighting by himself,"

"Ok, seriously, could you end it now?" Lily asks, exasperatedly.

"Yeah – you're right. Let's do it," I jump back to join her. We both draw our wands in one fluid motion.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

"_Stupefy!_"

Instantly, everyone's weapons fly out of their hands and clatter harmlessly to the ground just before us, and they also fall unconscious. With added power, it's possible to strike a large group at once, and that's how we took on a whole unit of MPs.

"Ok, let's keep going!" Lily says, and we move on from there.

Before I explain further the events of that night, perhaps I should say how we got there in the first place.

_Close to the middle of the City which is home to the denizens of the British Soul Society is a skyscraper which has just one purpose: to be the gateway into the British Soul Society. There are multiple floors, each very spacious and without any rooms. There are stairs and two elevators connecting each floor. On every floor, there are multiple Gates, which lie idle until someone wants to enter the British Soul Society from Real World Britain, or any of the Soul Societies affiliated with Britain, or the countries of these soul societies._

_We got in relatively quietly – contrary to Urahara's prediction that we'd have to fight the moment we entered. We weren't particularly an odd-looking group – except for Renji and me, with our bright hair colours, but even then, nobody paid us any heed – and given our attire, we blended in perfectly with the British Shinigami. The guard standing next to the Gate (there were five gates on this floor, and each had one guard) simply stared at us and said, "I'm sorry – I don't think I got any word that anyone would be coming in today. Could I have your papers, please?"_

_"Papers?"_

_Lily stepped forward boldly and held out her Identity Card. We all tensed. The man took them and checked the particulars before stepping back and saluting._

_"Welcome back, Commander Potter. The people behind you – "_

_"Oh, they're fine,"_

_"Well…that's alright, then, I think. You may proceed," he said, looking slightly uncomfortable at first. We smiled slightly, to put him at ease, and walked towards the door. I smirked at Renji – this was a far cry from the last time I tried invading a Soul Society. That attempt was marked by noise and fighting, but this one was quiet. It was almost as if we'd graduated from being a bunch of noobs who didn't know how to properly break and enter without drawing attention. But then, a man walked through the doors, wearing a long coat and dripping wet. He went straight to the man who had just checked Lily's papers._

_"Sorry it took so long, Smith. The rain's really bad; traffic's slowed down to a crawl thanks to some idiot who crashed his car! Really – this is no place for a Foreign Div. man to be," he said casually, shrugging off his long coat as he walked to the man who had just checked Lily's particulars. We slowed down, but kept going. This was just a routine change of shift among the Agency staff, from the looks of it. But then, suddenly, the man who just walked in turned around slowly and stared at us._

_"Wait – you lot. Show me your papers,"_

_"They just did, Jones. They're fine," Smith said._

_"Doesn't matter. Just show me,"_

_Lily turned around, making sure that he could see her lapel pin (it was a single star, denoting her rank as a commander), and showed him her IC again._

_"Wait a minute! You! Just earlier the boys from Section 5 were sent to arrest you!" He turned around to the other five men in the room. "Get them! They're wanted criminals!" The six men drew their swords and came near us. Urahara chortled._

_"Sorry to rain on your parade, men. But I'd just like to point out that we've got four men here who could take on General-level fighters and conceivably win. Are you sure you want to go against us?" He pointed his finger at one of the men and let out a blast of spiritual energy (it was actually the First Hado, cast without an incantation), which flew past the man's ear and hit the wall, creating a small hole there. Everyone stood stock-still, not knowing what to do. Urahara simply straightened his blazer and said coolly, "Thank you,"_

_And we all walked out. Renji whistled, "Like a boss!"_

_"They'll call for reinforcements, if they haven't done so already," Urahara warned us. "Thankfully, the weather's in our favour. Their roads are blocked, and even if they tried running or air-walking here, they won't dare go very fast in this kind of rain, unless they're powerful enough,"_

_"What'd you mean?"_

_"Flash-stepping through adverse weather is very dangerous, Kurosaki-san!" he said, wagging a finger at me as we charged down the stairs to the exit a few floors below. "If you run at that speed through rain, the raindrops can easily pierce your skin like bullets. Right now, it's the end of December; in winter, the raindrops are supercooled and that makes them even more dangerous. If you're powerful, your body will naturally be coated with more reiatsu, and that'll protect you. Even so, it's not advisable for any of us to use our flash-steps. Not until it stops raining, at least,"_

_"But a shield charm should work, though" Lily nods. Thankfully, all of us made sure to bring our wands with us (except Urahara, who didn't have a wand). Lily was the best at magic, by far, and I came in a distant second along with Ichimaru. All the rest lagged behind me, but they weren't exactly pathetic at it. They could hold their own against, perhaps, a Hogwarts Third Year student if they put their all into it. Oh wait…that _is_ pretty pathetic! Oh well._

_Once we were outside, we were hit by the full force of the rain. Lily quickly conjured up coats for all of us. Urahara, who was leading us, stopped shortly._

_"We should probably split up,"_

_"What? But only three of us know this place well!" I argued._

_"Yes, I didn't mean we all go out individually." He says after a short pause. Of course you didn't, Urahara, I thought sarcastically. Even he makes mistakes sometimes! "Let's break up into three groups. Kurosaki-san, why don't you go with Ms Potter? As for Abarai-san and Shirogane-san, they'll go with Ichimaru-san. There are several places they could be hidden, so we'll investigate each place by ourselves,"_

_ "Ichigo and I will go to the Prisons, then," Lily said assertively._

_"The three of us will try the other military prisons," Ichimaru nodded._

_"Very good. Now, there's something else I have to do, so good luck!" Urahara said cheerily._

_Nodding in agreement, we all went our separate ways._

And some time after that, the rain stopped and Agents started recognising us on the streets of the City (yes, there were actual streets and roads with vehicles, completely unlike the Japanese Soul Society). They actively sought us out and when they found us, they fought. Or rather, they tried to. And they always seemed confused. None of them had any idea why there were groups of people attacking them, and why these groups always had one or more Japanese people in them. Or why we were so strong.

"So Lily…earlier Ichimaru said he wanted to go to the Military Prisons. And here we are going to another Prison. What's the difference?"

"The Prisons? Well, they're going to the prison meant for Agents when they misbehave. The one we're going to is for civilians,"

"Civilians? Oh – you mean the souls of the dead who come here, but don't actually join the Agency?"

"Yup."

"As far as I could remember, there's no prison in the Japanese Soul Society for our civilians. Come to think of it, the Gotei-13 doesn't even bother to enforce law and order in many of the civilian districts. Renji and Rukia both came from lawless districts,"

"Did they?" she looks genuinely shocked. "I can believe Renji came from a rough place, but Rukia? She's so…dignified!"

After I laughed at what she said about Renji, I explained, "Well…she was adopted into a noble family. I guess they drilled that sort of attitude into her,"

"I see," she shoots me a sideways glance. "You disapprove?"

I stared back, then looked forward and sighed. "Well, yes. Just between you and me, I disapprove – not at her discipline or dignity, though. I disapprove of her adoption itself,"

She looks interested now. "Care to share why?"

"Well, ok, I guess. Now then…where do I start? Hmm. Ok," I snap my fingers, then launch into my tale. "The head of the Kuchiki noble family is a man named Byakuya. He's very powerful, and pulled quite a few strings to get Rukia adopted into his family. She was still in the Spiritual Arts Academy when he asked her to become his adopted sister. He offered to get her a job in the Gotei-13 without graduation from the Academy as an incentive of sorts. And after that, in order to protect her, he used his influence to get the Captain of Rukia's Company to prevent her from rising up the ranks to become an officer, 'cause the officers get the more dangerous jobs,"

"Well, it seems she got a very good offer, right? It's like you're in the middle of university when someone offers you a cushy job before graduation," she says.

"Well…yeah, I guess. He wanted her to be protected, and he got what he wanted. But is that really a good thing? I don't think so. When she joined the Gotei, she was sub-standard – which is perfectly understandable since she hadn't finished school yet. But even if it was only natural that her skills were so bad, she felt unworthy to be in her position. She felt inferior to the rest of her fellow company mates. And she was stuck as an unranked reaper. She was stuck in the same position for years, initially because she still had to build up her skills and solidify her current standing first before anything else. And after that, when she had progressed enough to earn a promotion, she was denied a higher rank because of her brother's influence,"

"So essentially, it was like a gilded cage?"

"Something like that. She wasn't the most confident person at that time, and putting her in a job for which she hadn't received sufficient training just made it worse. She was alienated from most people in her company because she got in thanks to her brother's influence – nobody likes that, right? You wouldn't like it if a person got special favours just because they have powerful friends or family members. But anyway, I think…Byakuya did a lot of good things for her. But I think she might have been a much more confident and strong-willed person if he hadn't adopted her. Or rather, she would have reached that stage sooner. She was allowed to progress sometime in the last two years, and that did her a world of good. She finally has some sense of belonging to her company and organisation. A sense of belonging exactly where she is right now. She's no longer shy or overly self-deprecating,"

"And that's why you only started going out with her now, instead of earlier,"

Pause. "To a certain extent,"

"I guess we're not that different after all," she smiles.

"What'd you mean?"

"We both waited a long time to go out with the person we loved. James and I…we've knew each other since our first year at Hogwarts, when we were 11. Over the course of our education there, he repeatedly asked me to go out with him. I refused for a long time because…he was an annoying, arrogant jerk,"

"Really?" I was the shocked one now. "James was like that? Wait – annoying in what way? Was he like some kind of pervert? Or was he always picking fights? Or was he cocky?" I realise I've been subconsciously naming the annoying qualities of Asano Keigo, Zaraki Kenpachi, and a few others, including Renji.

She laughs heartily. "A little of each, in fact! He was a bit of a hero in the school. He was a Quidditch star – in fact, _the_ Quidditch star – very outgoing, confident and good-looking. All the guys wanted to be like him and all the girls wanted him. He let all that attention and admiration get to his head. He was also a bit of a bully,"

"Wait, hold on – he was in Gryffindor, right?"

"Yeah. Is that relevant?"

"Yeah. If he was a Gryffindor, and a bully, then I guess he must have bullied the Slytherin students only – or he bullied them more than the students from other houses,"

"Hmm. Good observation. You might think I was ok with that, as a fellow Gryffindor, but…I wasn't," she says. Her head is hung, and she looks somewhat depressed.

"Umm. You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to…"

"No, it's fine. After all, you just shared your own personal thoughts on something. I don't mind telling you this," she straightens up and continues. "Of all the Slytherin students, he bullied one with particular viciousness. I'd tell you his name, but you probably don't know him. Anyway, I was actually friends with that guy from even before I came to Hogwarts – in fact, it was he who told me all about the secret world of wizards. I stood up for him on countless occasions when he was bullied, but I found myself drawing further and further from him,"

"Because of your different houses?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. Back in my Hogwarts days, I'd seen students of different houses and I was unable to see any difference between them. They came in with some condition or another and I treated them without prejudice. The whole house rivalry thing was ridiculous, in my opinion.

"No. Well, that was partially to blame, but mostly it was because of his hobbies. He…was into the Dark Arts. It was pretty much an open secret that he wanted to go and join Voldemort right after his education was over, like many other Slytherins. That didn't sit well with James,"

"And so he bullied them because of that? Can't say I condone bullying people who actually intend to become criminals, but at least it's better than bullying normal, innocent, defenceless students, right?"

"Yeah, certainly. But it just made me even more confused," she says, sighing. "If James had picked on defenceless students, it would've been easy to hate him. But he didn't. I tried everything I could to steer that friend of mine away from the Dark Arts. I tried to be there for him all the way. It was a miracle that people in my own house didn't scorn me or treat me like an outcast for that reason. Then, finally, in Fifth year, I stopped,"

That was pretty abrupt. "What? You stopped? As in you ended your friendship?"

She nods. "He…said something cruel to me. There could've been a reasonable explanation for it. He was…under a lot of stress at that time. You know how some people tend to lash out at others in situations like that, right? Even at their own friends?"

Oh, definitely, I knew. Stress makes people do stupid things. Hinamori and Toshiro were shining examples of that – and, though I hate to admit it, so was I. _Sigh_.

"After that I decided to end it. I was tired anyway. My friends kept asking why I still counted him a friend, even though he was so creepy. They didn't understand why I stuck up for him. I asked myself the same thing. Was it worth it? After that, I decided it wasn't. I stopped talking to him,"

"And what happened after that?"

"James cleaned up his act towards the end of his school life. I went out with him then. As for the Slytherin guy I was friends with? He went on to become a Death Eater. When I heard about it, I wondered if things might've gone differently if I hadn't distanced myself from him. The next time we met, it would be as enemies. I, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, would have to fight him, a Death Eater. Oh, by the way, the Order was an organisation Dumbledore created to fight Voldemort. I was busy. I got on with my life. I still have no idea what that guy's doing now,"

I nodded soberly. "Oh, the things people do to screw their lives over. But that's not always bad. Somehow most brilliant people are screwed up in some way or another. If I'd never suffered the trauma of my mother's death, I'd never have come to this stage. I'd never even have become a reaper in the first place,"

"Please. You're saying you're brilliant?"

"Well, yeah. I guess I am,"

We laugh and keep going. It's almost dawn now, and it's started to snow lightly. Pulling our coats a little closer, we broke into a run.

"The prison is just beyond this row of buildings here! You can't miss it; it's got a high metal fence and barbed wire,"

"Like that's gonna stop us!"

"Well, it _was_ designed for Civilians! It wasn't designed to hold people who could scale those heights easily,"

"What?" I slow down. "Doesn't that make it unlikely that our guys are here? Surely they'd have moved them to a different place? One with higher security?"

"It's still worth checking out! There are ways of restricting them from using their power, y'know! And besides, they could be guarded well. Don't you remember what Mr. Urahara said about the Home Team members?"

I nodded silently and we picked up the pace.

"Here we are!"

We had just reached the Prison. It was a simple building painted in dull colours and with the large fence, as Lily had predicted. We easily jumped over the fence and landed safely on the opposite side. Several guards drew their weapons in alarm and ran towards us.

"_Confringo!_" At Lily's command, there was a small explosion of snow as the guards converged on us, and sent them flying.

"That's strange…"

"What is?"

"None of them have wands. We know that all reapers are able to perform magic. So how come none of the Agents we've seen so far do it?"

She shrugs. "Personal choice. Those who want to take magic lessons can go take them, but it's a hassle for many. For one thing, you've got to get a wand, and for that, you need to go to the Real World. That's because there are no magical animals here to provide the special organic cores that all wands require, so wand-makers can't provide people with wands here,"

"But shouldn't the Agency sponsor such visits to the Real World? Shouldn't they have a policy regarding magical education for their members?"

We step inside the building as she answers me. "They don't see any reason to. They already equip their members with relevant skills for the battlefield. The top brass doesn't see why it should go out of its way to arrange for extra magical training. Of course, that doesn't mean they don't care about magic users. Magic users have a greater chance of being assigned to the Accelerated Class in the Military Institute – that class basically learns skills at a faster pace – and they also have more chance of becoming officers. But it all depends on their skill, in the end. There's no bias in favour of former wizards and witches,"

"Well, that works in our favour. We're already well-equipped in battlefield arts, and we've got magic training too. We're practically overqualified compared to the people we've seen," I observe.

"True, but still, be careful. These guys are low-level fighters," she warns. We take down a few more minor guards and soon, we reach a flight of stairs, which we run up.

"I'll check all the floors with even numbers, starting with the second floor, and you check the odd-numbered ones, starting from the third floor, ok?"

"Sure!" I run up the stairs to the third floor, while Lily uses _Alohamora_ to open the door on the second level and charges in. I quickly find the Third-Level door and open it. A guard is already waiting for me – and he's holding a gun. I stop cold and stand straight, staring at him. I can't take any chances with that kind of weapon.

"Not so tough now, are you?" he smirks, taking a few steps forward. "You can deal with a few idiots holding swords, but you're completely useless against guns, aren't you?"

He stops smiling and turns serious. "On your knees, now,"

Damn! Should I?

"I said NOW!"

Wait – this situation isn't unsalvageable. There's still something I can do about it! I can't betray any emotion now, but inside my head, Zangetsu and the Hollow are laughing, already aware of my plan. I quickly drop to my knees, and he comes closer, putting his gun close to my forehead. All the prisoners in the room have been sleeping, but upon hearing the guard shout, they've woken up and are looking intently at me. They're all men, and dressed in purple overalls. Most of them look pretty weak. A couple are very muscular, but they're extremely weak in terms of spiritual energy. Some of the weedy ones are stronger than them. They're being held in cells, two rows of which are present in the room. My observation finished, I turn my attention back to the Guard.

"Finished admiring the prison? Good, 'cause you'll most likely be shut up here after my seniors learn about what's happened, idiot," he smirks.

But he's also an idiot. In his overconfidence, he's walked too close to me. At this close range, I know exactly what to do. Averting my eyes from his ugly face, I pounce. Within the space of two seconds, I'm standing up, pointing the gun at him. He's lying on the floor, screaming in pain and holding his groin. Ouch. This is what roughly happened:

_Step 1: Left hand shoots diagonally upwards and twists his gun to my right. My head snaps left, bringing his line of fire away from my face. Then, the right hand goes up and latches onto the gun. The result – his gun is not pointing at my head, but at the wall behind._

_Step 2: Time to get up! But I don't need to put much effort into this. Reflexively, the guard pulls back on his gun. Since I'm holding onto it tightly, he basically pulls me up himself._

_Step 3: It's time to go on the offensive. Keeping the gun pointed to the wall behind, kick him repeatedly – in the groin. When his grip on his weapon loosens, shake it free and point it at him. And, for god's sake, keep your distance so he doesn't get the chance to pull the same trick on you!_

Despite my misgivings, it went perfectly, just as I'd envisioned it in my mind; The gun went off once – luckily, the bullet hit the wall behind. Otherwise, the three steps are executed flawlessly. The prisoners laugh viciously and one even hoots, "Do 'im in!"

"Shut up!" I bark, and check the gun in my hand. Fumbling around, I press a button and some kind of container falls out of the handgrip.

"Whoa – what the hell?"

"That's the magazine," someone says. I look to the person who spoke – it's a thin, youngish guy in glasses. "It contains the ammunition,"

So it was a real gun that fired bullets. At first I'd thought that the gun might've been like a Zanpakuto – in a sense that it didn't fire bullets but instead fired blasts of spiritual energy. If it had been that kind of gun, I could have taken several shots and still remained standing – it'd be like getting hit by weak kido. But this is a real gun. If I hadn't taken the measures I did, I could well have died because of a well-placed bullet. I fumbled around a little more, and this time, another bullet dropped harmlessly out of the top of the gun when I pulled it back.

"It's clear now," the young man says. "No magazine, and the one round in the chamber is gone too,"

"Oooh. Scary," I mutter. I think of dropping the gun there and then, but the prisoners are looking at it almost hungrily. Even without any ammo, it's a dangerous weapon. Warily, I make my way over to the one window on the floor and toss the magazine out of it before leaving the empty gun on the floor and walking through the prison. Oh, I almost forgot – the Guard's still there. Granted, he's still in pain, but he could still be dangerous. I knock him out with magic before proceeding. Everyone stares at me silently as I scan the rows. There's nobody familiar here, but I can see one cell empty. I walk over to it, since it's the only interesting thing here. The door hasn't been locked, so I open it and walk inside. It's the same as the other cells; nondescript, with a single window and a bench. I carefully checked everything in the room, and then got out and looked to the cell directly opposite. There was one man inside – he was an elderly man, sitting on the bench. Maybe I'll ask him.

"Umm. Hello? Could you tell me if there was anyone in this cell previously?"

The man, who looks rather like a large monkey, simply sneers at me. I repeat myself.

"I don't have to answer to the likes of you, boy! Disappear!" he shouts at me. Anger rises up in me.

"_Alohamora!_" his cell door crashes open and he stands up, startled. He starts to smile uncertainly – wondering if I decided to break him out of prison. His smile immediately fades as I cross the corridor to his cell in an instant with a flash-step and grab his throat in a strong grip.

"What – you thought I was just gonna let you go? Was there someone in that cell opposite yours?"

"You dare…talk to Marvolo Gaunt like that?" he gasps. "Have you any idea…my ancestors…"

What the hell was he saying? I relax my grip on his throat and instead, punch his abdomen hard.

"Was. There. Someone. In. That. _Cell_? ANSWER ME!" Each word is accentuated with a punch.

Finally, he wheezes, "Yes! There was! They took him away a few hours ago – I don't know where! It…was a blond man…in black robes,"

"Kira," I breathe. I turn around curtly and close his cell again – using magic to lock it again ("_Colloportus!_"). I walk down the hallway again.

"_Hsssss_,"

What the hell? Did someone – or something – just _hiss_? I kept walking along, but then, the same noise again. It's coming from a few metres behind me. There's a guy in one of the cells I just passed, and he's gripping the bars tightly. He's the one who's hissing. He looks extremely wild; with dirty, long hair, and a beard. Several of his teeth are missing and his eyes are oddly looking in different directions.

"What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Ah – that's Morfin Gaunt," another voice calls out. It's the bespectacled boy who had told me about the gun's magazine earlier. "He's the son of the guy you were punching. He never speaks, just hisses. 'Bout a month ago, we had a loon who claimed he understood what those hisses meant. He got transferred out, though,"

"Really? Is he pissed at me for beating up his dad?"

"I guess. Not that anyone else is pissed, though. We all hate the Gaunts. They won't talk to any of us 'cause they say we're 'filthy muggles',"

"Muggles? But I thought anyone can use magic here,"

"Only those with spirit energy, bro. The rest of us can't," he shrugs. I cock my head at him.

"Well, thanks for the info, I guess. I'll be off then. Hope you get released soon," I say awkwardly. He smiles and salutes jauntily from his cell as I walk out. He's surprisingly chill for a prisoner who's just watched a Japanese guy barge in and threaten a few people. Without wasting any more time, I charge up the stairs to the Fifth floor. This time, I take precautions. I hold out my wand, and the disarming spell is on the tip of my tongue as I kick the door open. The guard in this room is carrying a sword.

"_Expelliarmus!_ _Incarcerous!_" He is immediately bound by magically-conjured ropes and falls to the floor while I check the cells. Nothing of interest here. There're no higher floors, so I quickly bound down to the floor below.

"Lily?"

"Ichigo? How'd it go?"

"Kira was kept here, on the Third Floor. He was taken out about a few hours ago. The cell showed some signs of a struggle. One bar was slightly bent – this place really wasn't designed to hold reapers in it,"

"Yeah. What else happened? I could hear you shouting from here! Not to mention, the gunshot!"

"Oh, that. Well, the guard had a gun. He missed, though. And I had to rough up a guy to find out what he knew. I found out Kira had been kept in a cell there, but he's gone now. There was nothing special on the Fifth Floor, though,"

"Ah. Same thing happened on the Second and Fourth floors. Apparently a guy with tattoos and scars on his face had been kept in the Third Floor. He was wearing black robes without sleeves – sounds like Shuhei. But he was taken away too. And on the Fourth, there was another empty cell. The one who'd been kept there was Yumichika. They said he had a bob hairdo and a braid, plus feather on his face and a white sash on his shoulder. And apparently he gave the guards hell for messing his hair and uniform,"

"That's him, alright," I grimace. Even at a time like this, the bastard's highest priority was his appearance. "If they were all taken out, I guess they must've been transferred to the other higher-security prison. Or to be executed,"

"Let's get going to the other prison. We'll call Renji on the way and check out what they've found," We found a window and jumped out of it and out of the compound. Thankfully, the snow had made it difficult for reinforcements to arrive in time, and there were just a few men and women standing around outside the front of the building, watching as a few others ran in. They completely missed us as we jumped out to the back and over the fence. Lily grabbed her phone and started dialling Renji. Once he picks up, she turns on speakerphone mode.

"Renji! Have you guys found them?"

"Lily? This is kind of a bad time! We just got here, but it's already swarming with Agents!" We can hear the noise of clanging metal over the phone. Luckily, they've got two Captain-level fighters there, but if Renji's stressed, then things aren't too good.

"Alright! You guys hold the fort! We'll come over and assist you! I think everyone's there!"

"Looking forward to it!" Renji shouts sarcastically, and ends the call.

"Alright, let's go!" Lily shouts. She quickly grabs my hand, and before I can protest, we've apparated off to the Military Prison.

"Stop doing that without warning!"

"Sorry," she sticks out her tongue playfully. "Anyway, I apparated about a hundred metres away from the Prison, so we can sneak in. It's this way; let's go!"

And so we ran. Renji was right. This place is already full of Agents, and many more are running in to assist their friends. Quite a few actually pass us by, but none of them pay us any heed, since we look just like them. As we did with the Civilian prison, we jump over the fence of the Military prison, which is much higher. But since we can air-walk here, clearing the fence is not difficult. I draw my sword and it wordlessly changes to Shikai form the second it's out of its sheath. Oh, the benefits of having Bankai. Lily, on the other hand, has to tap her short sword and say _Veneficus Venator_ before it changes into the black scythe.

"RENJI!"

There's no reply, over all the noise, but I'm guessing he must be in the centre, where a large group of Agents are simultaneously attacking.

"Damn! We've got to go help him before he gets overwhelmed!"

But, as it turned out, there was no need. There was a bright red explosion in the centre. Was that…his reiatsu?

"_Howl, Zabimaru!_" What? He was only releasing his Shikai _now_? I smirked. He certainly had grown powerful if he depended less on the two releases now. If this had happened two years back, he'd probably already have engaged Bankai at this point. The familiar segmented blade I hadn't seen in quite some time stretched out and spun in a wide arc, taking down many agents.

"RENJI!"

"Ichigo! Get over here and help us out!"

"Like I needed to be told!" I retorted, and stood my ground, taking down anyone who came too near.

Someone in the crowd then yelled, "_Potter!_"

"What? Oh – Sir!" Lily said, alarmed. There was one man walking towards us. He looked very tough, and had short black hair, with a scar on his left cheek. In his left hand was a hammer (WTF?), which looked like it weighed a hundred kilograms, but which he held easily. As he approached us, all activity seemingly ceased in the Prison complex. All the agents stopped and pulled back. Some cleared a path for him.

"What the hell are you doing, Potter?"

"Umm, well…"

"Lily, who's that?"

"That's…one of my superiors in the Foreign Division," she told me.

"Foreign Division? Aren't they the people sent to arrest us?"

"Yeah,"

Maybe I should talk to him. I stepped forward to greet him.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, Captain-nominee from the Gotei-13. We came here to find out what became of our comrades you arrested,"

"What?" he frowns.

"Yesterday, a group of your men came to our HQ in the real world and, without warning, arrested the rest of our teammates – including your own man, James Potter. We came here looking for them,"

"There was no arrest," his frown deepens. "Potter – not you, I'm talking about your husband – made his report to me just last evening,"

"The arrests took place past 9 last night! He must've submitted his report before that," Lily suggests.

He frowns. "The report did come before 9…but that doesn't give you the excuse to cause all this mayhem!"

"Not like we knew who to trust!" I retort. "We came to check the prisons for our people. When your guys tried to stop us, we fought back. That's all. And besides, how do you not know about this? It was your department behind the attacks, so how do you not know about the arrests?"

He glares at me. "That's irrelevant! If there was an arrest, I would've been informed about it. Right now, all I see is you causing trouble here. I can't let that slide. If you drop your weapons now, I'll make your arrests less painful!" he swings his hammer in a wide arc to emphasise his point.

It's Renji who answers. "That's fine with me! We came here to help the British Soul Society. But if this is what things have come down to, then we've got no choice but to fight," He swings his sword in a wide arc, flaring his spiritual energy. A few agents drop unconscious from the sheer energy that's being emitted by him. "Listen, and listen well. We're really reasonable people. But if you're taking our friends hostage and threatening them, we won't listen to reason. We won't stop until every last one of us is back home safely. If you want to stop us, TRY IT! SEE WHAT HAPPENS!"

"Whoa Renji! Since when were you this cool?"

"Shut up and fight, Ichigo!" he shouts, angry that his one minute of epicness had ended this way.

Laughing at his response, I raised my sword and prepared to fight.

"I'll go check inside the prison!" Lily shouts – but apparently, there was no need for that.

"Mihane and Ichimaru are inside already!" Renji roared, whipping away a small group of agents with his Zanpakuto. "Lily, you stay and help us here instead. Leave the inside to them!"

And so the three of us were left outside to fend off the attacks of about 60 or so Agents – including a few officers and that freaking strong badass holding the hammer. He came straight for me, swinging his hammer wildly. Oh no no no no no no!

"Damn it!" have you any idea how tough it is to block a hammer using a sword? Even if your sword is much bigger than the average claymore? I've fought against all sorts of weapons before, mostly boring, run-of-the-mill swords, but also against more exotic ones like claws, darts and a freaking _tail_ (Grimmjow) and even ash (Rangiku-san's Zanpakuto spirit, what's-her-name). But a hammer was an entirely different experience. I lacked leverage and had to make up for it in pure strength as he kept bringing the hammer down to bear on me.

But then again…this guy wasn't even halfway up to my level. He was strong and could possibly take me down, but in terms of spirit energy, I outclassed him like a nuclear submarine outclassed a simple fishing vessel. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating. _Maybe_.

"_Hado #4: Byakurai!_" I took a leaf out of Byakuya's book and pressed my fingers to his shoulder blade before casting the spell. He screamed out in pain and many of the others in the vicinity visibly winced when they saw what I'd done. Even after that, he remains standing, and uses only his left hand to hold his weapon.

"Damn…you…"

"You should really go and find out what you can about last night. Some of our people _were_ arrested and even James and Lily were targeted. And to top that off, you don't know, despite being a high-ranking officer in the division that was responsible for the arrests. Clearly, something's wrong,"

He sneers at me. "_Clearly_…you're lying!"

"No, I'm not. We may look like a bunch of punks but we don't go around invading other people's home just for the hell of it. We're not here to play; we're here to take back our comrades and find out what's causing all this. Now listen: We don't know what's going on, but we can guess. And right now, our guess is that some people here are being manipulated. Hell, you could be one of them for all I know,"

He doesn't look like he fully believes me, but at least he's quiet, waiting for me to continue.

"Trust me, I know from experience just how strong Aizen Sosuke's influence can be. That man fooled a centuries-old organisation for more than a hundred years. It's worth checking if your own organisation is under that same influence,"

It's time to end it. I jump back to give myself some space, and before he can do anything, I swing my sword down.

"_Getsuga Tensho!_"

The man yells out as the blue beam of spirit energy slams into him and sweeps him away. One down, more to go! But even as I fought physically against blades and blasts of energy, I was fighting an internal battle – against a subtle feeling of foreboding.

Where the hell was everyone?

Who was behind all this?

Is Aizen involved in this business?

Elsewhere

Third Person Narration

"Just what the hell's going on?" A red haired man asked his partner (another red-haired man, who looked similar to him). The two were dressed in Agency uniforms and were walking briskly along a pathway. Both had three stars on their lapel, identifying them as officers with the rank of Captain.

"I don't know, Fabian!" the other man said sharply. "There's so much going on here and there, I have no idea where to start. Don't know whether or not to go to the prisons to find out what's going on, or to go investigate that weird incident close to the President's HQ!"

"Yeah – what was that all about? I felt something just barely a few seconds ago, but I'm not sure exactly what!" the first man said. At this point, the two jumped up onto a wall and stood back to back, observing the scenery all around. They were currently in a less-urbanised area, so the buildings were relatively low-height. From here, they could see the Prison, from which a plume of smoke was rising, several kilometres away. They could also see a large grey building several kilometres off in another direction. This was the where the offices of the President and his staff were located.

In response to Fabian's question, the second man said, "Oh, you and your feeble senses." Rolling his eyes, he explained, "I felt some shifts in the spiritual energy in the President's office. It fluctuated sharply for a while before stabilising – and then it felt strangely different from before."

"Different? How was it different, Gideon?" Fabian asked.

"It felt…malicious, somehow. Back during that time when we fought those Death Eaters, remember I felt something just before they came? It had a similar feeling,"

"Really?" Fabian asked, shocked. Gideon grimly nodded. "Then we should go there first, shouldn't we?"

"But have you felt the energy radiating from there?" Gideon snapped, gesturing impatiently towards the Prison. "I don't know who exactly is there, but they're insanely powerful,"

Fabian shook his head. "I know. But right now, our leader's in danger. There may be some strong people there, but we've got our own men to take care of them. For now, we should be focussing on the other problem, over there!" he gestured forcefully towards the Offices. Gideon looked torn, but eventually shook his head and turned towards the offices.

"Ok. You win. Let's go, Fabian!"

The two redheads grinned at one another and disapparated. Within seconds, they were right in front of the block of offices. They opened the door and stepped inside, to be met with a flurry of activity all around. People were performing all sorts of duties. A few were on the phone, while others took down messages to be transmitted over military-grade radios.

"A general call, huh? Strange. You'd think people would be scrambling to find out exactly what happened to the President!" Gideon whispered to Fabian. He nodded, his lips a thin line. They moved on to the lift lobby and pressed the number 5 – the highest floor. Once they stepped out, they turned left out of the lift lobby to find a large oak door with a Sergeant standing before it. In that floor, there were also two sofas a few metres away from the door, and there was a table in between. There was even a pantry nearby, stocked with coffee in an instant coffee maker and some biscuits in packets. The Sergeant looked at them suspiciously, but then saluted them upon seeing their ranks.

"Do you have an appointment, sir?" he asked Gideon, who had stepped forward.

"No. But we felt something strange just then, so we came to investigate,"

"Something strange?" the Sergeant frowned. "Nothing's strange, sir. The President has been doing his work all day…"

"Don't you think that's odd?" Gideon questioned sharply. "There's some kind of attack taking place in our City, and the President has been 'doing his work'? No orders or anything"

The Sergeant glared. "If it's just a few intruders, I'm sure the Home Team will be more than capable of – "

"Not likely! Have you even felt the spiritual energy of those guys who attacked us?"

"What?" The Sergeant said airily. "Did you people honestly come all the way up here just to tell me that you can't handle a few misfits who wandered in here to cause trouble?"

"Watch that mouth of yours!" Fabian snapped. "The only one who can't handle his own job here is YOU! Something happened at this place to the President, and you're standing here doing nothing, like everything's fine! It sickens me!"

The Sergeant hesitantly took a step back. Even if he was currently charged with standing guard outside the President's office, he was talking to two officers. They could have had him charged for insubordination. He held up his hands peacefully.

"Alright, alright. I see your point, Sir. But still, the President is awfully busy. He told me not to disturb him at all,"

"It doesn't matter; we need to find out what happened, and we need orders from him!" Gideon argued. The Sergeant opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. He looked back at the door, then back at the two captains, unsure of what to say. Luckily, he was rescued from his predicament soon – by the door opening.

"Is everything alright?" said the man who stepped out from inside the room. Gideon and Fabian immediately stood to attention along with the surprised Sergeant and all three saluted him. This man was Stamford Osborne, the president of the Agency. He was a tall, thin man who looked to be in his late 50s. He had a sharp, clean-shaven face and short grey hair. He was dressed in the same black suit everyone else wore, although he had two lapel pins: one that had a British flag on it, and another that had five stars (with five points) in a row.

"So what do you gentlemen want?" he asked affably, going over to the pantry and picking up the coffee jug. The Sergeant hastily ran over to him to fill three mugs of coffee.

"Thank you, Alan. So? Captains Fabian and Gideon Prewett? What brings you here?" he read their names from their name tags on their blazers.

"Oh…well, sir," Fabian started. His shock was so much that he had almost forgotten why he had come to that place. Composing himself, he said quickly, "Sir, I'm sure you're already aware of what's going on outside. We wanted to find out your orders, and also investigate something that happened in this place,"

"Investigate? Investigate what?" Osborne asked in his smooth, quiet voice.

"We felt some fluctuations in the spirit energy here, sir. And, sir, we didn't just come to investigate that. We also came to get new orders,"

"New orders, you say? Hmm, that's right. You do need new orders now. I can already feel several of our men falling to the enemy," he suddenly clapped his hands. "Ok! Captain Fabian, what Unit are you from?"

"Home Team, sir!"

"Go to your Commanding Officer and tell him to put the city on lockdown. I want all the Non-commissioned officers to stay behind and leave the fighting to the Commissioned Officers. All of them, from 2nd Lieutenant to Major rank-holders, are to go and fight. Understood? Carry on, Captain! Captain Gideon will be given his new instructions and will be sent from here later on,"

"Y-yes, sir!" Fabian said. He excused himself and ran down, patting Gideon once on the arm.

"Captain Gideon – what's your unit?"

"Military Police, sir,"

"Excellent. Two men from the most relevant Units came here!" the President smiled. "You go back and give the same instructions. And regarding the prisons…" Osborne broke off at this point and stroked his chin. Then he suddenly snapped his fingers and said, "Send some officers to fortify the prisons, but leak information to the hostile soldiers that you're actually reducing security around the prisons,"

"So it's a trap!"

"Exactly,"

"Very good, sir. I'll have it done immediately," Gideon said.

"And one more thing: Execute all the prisoners from the Christmas Day raid,"

Gideon frowned; had he heard that right?

"I beg your pardon, sir?"

Patiently, Osborne explained, "On Christmas, there was a raid and some…hostile elements were arrested in the Living World. I'm telling you to go and execute them,"

Gideon racked his brains. What raid? Who were these hostile elements? Then, the memory of an inter-unit memo came to mind. If he had remembered it correctly, there were some Japanese Reapers stationed in Britain for an overseas mission. And the memo had stated that these men and women were to be arrested for 'breaking the laws of Great Britain's Soul Society'. And now they were to be executed? Gideon wondered what kind of law they had broken.

Then, another thing came to mind, and this shocked him to the core: Wasn't Lily Potter among this group? She had been the one assigned to be their chaperone of sorts, together with James. No, this was too much. He had to ask.

"Sir, if I remember correctly, there were also a few of our people with them…"

"Execute them too. They're accomplices in this," Osborne said sharply. This time, Gideon really gasped.

"But sir! We can't just execute one of our own! Lily and James can't possibly have done anything wrong!"

"Oh, but they have," Osborne nodded, holding up his cup of coffee. "And they must be punished for it,"

"At the very least, they need a trial!" Gideon persisted. There was no way he could comply with such an order! Osborne frowned at him, then set his mug down on the table.

"Captain, you have your orders – "

"No, sir! I cannot comply with such an order! James and Lily – "

The President stopped him by raising his hand.

"Wait here," he disappeared into his room and came out less than a minute later. To Gideon's surprise, he was carrying a sword. It was not a Western sword, but an oriental one. Was it Japanese? Yes it was, Gideon guessed. A Katana…was that what they called it? Looking down reflectively at the blade, Osborne slowly drew it. Sweat started forming on Gideon's forehead. What was he planning to do?

"Take a look at my new blade, Gideon," Osborne said, holding it up. "Like it? She's Japanese,"

"How on earth…did your spirit blade change its form, sir?" Gideon asked blankly. There was supposed to be no way this was possible.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about all that." Osborne smiled. He turned the blade such that its tip pointed towards the ground, while holding the handle up high, about 15 centimetres above his eye level.

"Captain Gideon Prewett. You had your orders, but you failed to carry them out. You're just an obstacle in my path. Albeit a minor one, easily taken care of,"

"What? What're you talking about, sir? Sergeant!" Gideon shouted, looking for the Sergeant. But he was just standing aside, remaining silent, his eyes fixed on the wall opposite. Was he pretending not to hear him?

"It's too late. He was under my spell a long time ago," the President said. Gideon shuddered. His voice – had it suddenly become silky smooth and deep? Yes, it had certainly changed!

"Under your spell? What are you? A Death Eater? Did you Imperius him?" Gideon demanded.

"Oh, I wonder," Osborne smiled maddeningly. The young Captain could not take it any more. He materialised his sword and, with a tremendous cry, charged towards the President. It no longer mattered who had the higher rank. This was life and death, and on top of that, it was revenge, for Gideon.

_!_

Gideon hardly dared open his eyes. He felt the clear response from his trembling hands; he had done it! He had stabbed the President of the Agency! His breathing deep, he looked up very slowly.

Osborne smiled.

_What the hell? He had been stabbed in the heart, and he could still smile?_

"A worthy attempt, Captain Gideon. But it is nowhere near enough to touch me,"

"Damn. _Damn! DAMN IT ALL!_" Gideon shouted, stabbing the President over and over again. Blood flowed everywhere. But the President kept smiling. The Sergeant kept looking straight at the wall ahead, looking completely alert, but apparently oblivious to what Gideon was doing.

"That's enough," Osborne suddenly said. Upon hearing the tone of that voice, even Gideon had to stop in spite of himself. "It is time to open your eyes to the truth,"

"_Truth_…?"

"Yes," Again, the deadly smile! The smile of a predator about to close in! "_Shatter, Kyouka Suigetsu_,"

At this command, the surrounding air itself seemingly shattered, like glass.

"_AAAAAAAAAARGH!_" Gideon screamed out in pain. There were numerous cuts on his body. _Where had they come from?_ He was the one doing the stabbing, not the other way around! And on the other hand, the President was perfectly fine; not a scratch on his body or clothes. He looked desperately to his only hope, the Sergeant. Still, he looked straight at the wall, with a look of alertness, but not knowing or not caring what had just happened.

"_H-h-how?_"

"A dying man needs not know these things, Gideon," Osborne said smoothly. "Your job from now on is simply to die as quickly as you can," with that cold statement, Stamford Osborne walked over to the lift lobby and took the lift down to the First Floor. Gideon remained sprawled on the floor, barely able to move.

"_Somebody…help! Sound the alarm! The President…he's…he's…James…Lily…somebody help them!_"

The only one who could possibly have heard him was the Sergeant. Even now he was standing motionlessly at the side of the room.

_Is this how it ends? I die, James dies, Lily dies, and this…President walks free?_ Gideon thought bitterly. _Oh, how cruel fate is._

But is it really?

Gideon Prewett – you are not alone. You have not been forgotten. You have not suffered in vain.

Outside the Office building, two men, miles apart and neither knowing anything of the other, came to a standstill. Both men had bright flaming hair and wore black suits – but one was an adult with the rank of Captain in the Agency, while the other was barely of age, but about to assume the post of Officer-Commanding of a Company in the Gotei-13.

"_Gideon!_" this thought ran through the mind of Fabian Prewett as he stopped and looked at the Office building, feeling the spiritual signature of his brother sharply increase, then decrease steadily.

"_This feeling…it's Kyouka Suigetsu! It's AIZEN!_" Kurosaki Ichigo mentally shouted. From deep within the recesses of his soul, his Hollow alter-ego, his Zanpakuto, Zangetsu, and the Kurosaki blood inherited from generation after generation of Moon-blade wielding warriors roared, and sounded the drums of war.

"_LET'S GO!_"

_To be continued_

This chapter was started a really long time ago, and updated sporadically when I had time. Which also means there's a hell of a lot of author's notes, compiled over the past 13 or so weeks! I hope you'll take some time to read these random thoughts of mine :)

_Veneficus Venator _– as mentioned previously, this is the name of Lily's Zanpakuto. It's Latin for _Warlock Hunter_. Warlocks are not exclusively considered to be evil in the _Harry Potter _universe (Albus Dumbledore himself is, in fact, a warlock), and is more of a title conferred on certain wizards rather than a classification of a certain type of wizard. However, in other media, and in real life history (in this case, I'm talking about warlocks in superstition, of course), warlocks can be considered evil or demonic.

As for the language, I could have used English, but I thought it was very weird to call out an English name. So I decided to use the various languages which English has borrowed words from – languages like French, Spanish, German, and others. Having said that, there'll only be a few original Zanpakutos. I'm just explaining the rationale behind the language I chose.

Could any of you tell that I enjoy reading _Soul Eater_?

*Coy refers to company, as in the 11th Company or the 5th Company. Now that I'm actually from the army, I know a little more about groups and sections, and I decided to make a few small changes. Previously, I referred to each large group in the Gotei-13 as a "Division", like the Thirteenth Division or the Fifth Division. Now, I'll be referring to these as "Companies", or "Coy" for short. Each group has only about 200 members, which makes it too small to be called a division (which has many thousands of soldiers!). So company is a more accurate term. Ichigo is the to-be OC (Officer-Commanding) of 5 Coy ("the Fifth Division") and Hinamori is the 2IC (2nd In-Command). Captain-Commander Yamamoto is the CO (Commanding Officer) of the entire Gotei-13. Now, I will not actually be using these abbreviations to refer to these characters all the time from now on, but I will be using 'company' or 'coy' in the place of 'division' from now on, so when I say 1 Coy, 5 Coy, or 9 Coy, you know what I'm talking about.

Also, in the British Agency, Agents with the rank of Captain do exist, like Fabian and Gideon. But they are not on the same power level as Captains in the Gotei-13, and they hold less responsibility as well, compared to their Japanese counterparts. The rank of an Agent is denoted by a lapel pin. Officer ranks start with 2nd Lieutenant (2LT, denoted by a single four-point star. Lily is a 2LT), followed by Lieutenant (LTA, denoted by 2 four-point stars. James is an LTA), and then Captain (CPT, denoted by 3 stars. Fabian and Gideon are CPTs). The star is not exclusive to generals, and most officer ranks are denoted by at least one star.

Like Japanese music? If you do, I highly recommend the band _Supercell_. With phenomenal vocals and (gasp!) meaningful lyrics, it's simply AWESOME. I've been addicted to their songs for weeks now! Some of my favourite songs by them are _Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari_ (A song about a girl's secret crush on a boy and her regret for not telling him – but it's actually a pretty upbeat song, ironically!), _Perfect Day_ (about moving on from past regrets), and _Hero_ (about an unlikely love story between a socially-awkward manga writer and a pretty girl he admired from afar – this one had really inspiring lyrics!). Do check out this band and their amazing songs!


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